Abclon Begins Overseas Commercialization of Advanced CAR-T Therapy AT101

Bio company AbClon has officially launched the global market entry of the Korean-style CAR-T cell therapy AT101.

From the left, Erkan Mankan, President of TCT; Ozturk Oran, Chairman of TCT; Jongseo Lee, CEO of Abclon. Provided by Abclon

AbClon announced on the 4th that it signed the final contract for the commercialization of AT101 with local company TCT Health Technology (TCT) in Istanbul, T?rkiye, on the afternoon of the 28th of last month (local time). Through this contract, AbClon will enter the blood cancer treatment market in T?rkiye. Based on this, it plans to strengthen its approach to the European and Middle Eastern markets.

The signing ceremony was attended by officials from AbClon, TCT, and related institutions in T?rkiye’s health and medical industry. The global life sciences company Cytiva also participated as a partner.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Health Research Institute of T?rkiye pledged full support for the clinical trials of the CAR-T therapy and the rapid market entry of AT101. Partner Cytiva will be responsible for the production process of this project. The plan is to manufacture the innovative AT101 locally so that the people of T?rkiye can receive treatment in the shortest possible time.

All commercialization costs, including clinical trials for approval and product manufacturing of AT101 in T?rkiye, will be fully borne by TCT. Under this contract, AbClon will receive an upfront payment and royalties based on net sales.

AT101 is a CD-19 CAR-T cell therapy developed based on AbClon’s proprietary technology platform (NEST). It applies a differentiated antibody (1218) from existing CAR-T therapies, demonstrating high therapeutic efficacy and safety, thereby securing global competitiveness.

Currently, phase 2 clinical trials are underway domestically, with the goal of applying for conditional expedited approval in the first half of this year. In the previously conducted phase 1 trial, it showed excellent therapeutic effects in over 90% of patients, attracting attention through presentations at international conferences and publications in prestigious academic journals.

In T?rkiye, more than 10,000 patients die from blood cancer annually, so a significant number of patients are expected to benefit from AT101’s treatment. T?rkiye has established itself as a medical hub connecting Europe and the Middle East, and the use of medical services by patients from Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is increasing. Accordingly, the introduction of AT101 is expected to have a positive impact on attracting patients from the Middle East region. AbClon plans to maximize patient treatment effects by operating CAR-T treatment centers and supporting medical staff at major hospitals in T?rkiye.

An AbClon official stated, "We will do our best to ensure that AT101 is rapidly approved and commercialized through cooperation with the Turkish government," adding, "This collaboration is an important first step in proving AbClon’s technological capabilities and competitiveness in the global CAR-T market."

With this contract, AT101 is expected to provide innovative treatment options to blood cancer patients in T?rkiye and the Middle East. AbClon plans to continue expanding overseas markets by simultaneously pursuing technology transfer collaborations with global pharmaceutical companies and direct market entry strategies.