ABION announced on the 9th that it has achieved a cumulative total of 15 contracted service projects from government departments related to national defense. Along with the smooth progress of its bio-defense business, the total cumulative contract amount reaches 13 billion KRW.
ABION holds multiple pipelines related to bio-defense. Under the development code ABN90X, it is conducting a total of six projects including ABN901, ABN902, ABN903, ABN904, ABN907, and ABN101. It has confirmed efficacy against eight biological threat agents, and development of four of these drugs is approaching clinical entry.
ABN901 is an antibody therapeutic that can neutralize bacterial toxins entering the body. It is approaching clinical entry, and additional project contracts are expected in the future. ABN101, based on the immune substance 'interferon beta,' is a universal antiviral therapeutic in an inhalation formulation. It works by suppressing viral replication through inhalation treatment in environments such as biochemical weapon dispersal or chemical and biological warfare. Its efficacy against respiratory viruses including COVID-19 has also been presented at international conferences.
A company representative stated, "Treatments for biochemical weapons or chemical and biological warfare cannot undergo actual late-stage clinical trials, so once sufficient non-clinical efficacy data and safety in humans from Phase 1 clinical trials are verified, stockpiling for emergency use is possible immediately." They added, "We have secured a 3,400-pyeong (approximately 11,220 square meters) site within the Osong Advanced Medical Complex in Chungbuk for bio-defense contract development and manufacturing (CDMO)."
The company explained that utilizing this site enables small-scale production of multi-variety drugs that domestic large corporations cannot produce under contract manufacturing (CMO). The strategy is to prepare for national emergencies with biochemical terrorism threats such as toxic balloon attacks by producing emergency vaccine drugs and others.
The representative also said, "We are expanding our business to the global market by attending the 'Tech Watch Forum' hosted jointly by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Joint Science and Technology Office (JSTO) to discuss cooperation plans," and added, "With rising geopolitical tensions worldwide, interest in bio-defense is expected to increase."
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