ABION announced on the 17th that it discussed pipeline technology licensing-out (LO) with global pharmaceutical companies at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference held in San Francisco, USA, from the 13th to the 16th of this month (local time).
In addition to global pharmaceutical companies, the company held one-on-one meetings with numerous new firms. There was significant interest from big pharma regarding the combination clinical trial of Babamekip and Lazertinib, for which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a combination Phase 2 clinical trial.
This combination clinical trial targets non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who have developed resistance due to hepatocyte growth factor receptor (c-MET) following epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) treatment. The first patient dosing in Part 1, which confirms safety and dosage, is scheduled to take place within the first quarter. The company plans to complete the early clinical phase within the year and accelerate efforts to secure substantial data.
Alongside this, there was also high interest in next-generation pipelines such as ABN202 and ABN501. Given the strong market interest in antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), inquiries continued regarding ABN202, an ‘Antibody-cytokine fusion protein (ACFP) platform’ that overcomes the limitations of ADCs and immunocytokines.
Early research results on a Bi-specific T-cell Engager (TCE) targeting both Claudin 3 and T cells, developed using ABN501, also attracted attention. The TCE (anti-CLDN3xCD3) effectively activates T cells, demonstrating a powerful cancer cell-killing effect. ABN501 showed potential as an innovative Claudin 3-targeting therapeutic and presented a new treatment paradigm by proving its applicability across various drug platforms.
A company representative stated, "Together with Executive Director Seongyun Woo, who recently joined as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), we discussed technology licensing and fundraising with numerous global venture capital (VC) firms and investment companies. We will strive to realize global big deals based on our technological competitiveness."
Executive Director Woo has experience handling global fundraising at Samsung Bioepis and the initial public offering (IPO) at Samsung Biologics. Based on diverse funding experiences including SK Siltron acquisition financing and bio-venture investment attraction, he is expected to lead ABION’s business development and fundraising efforts going forward.
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