ABL Bio, a company specializing in bispecific antibodies, announced on November 14 that it has signed an equity investment agreement with Eli Lilly worth approximately 22 billion KRW (15 million USD).
ABL Bio plans to issue 175,079 common shares to Eli Lilly, with an issue price of 125,900 KRW per share, calculated in accordance with regulations on the issuance and disclosure of securities. The payment will be made after approval under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR Act) and the completion of related administrative procedures. The newly issued shares will be subject to a one-year lock-up period through the Korea Securities Depository.
ABL Bio intends to use the investment to further research and develop its core technologies, including the Grabody platform and bispecific antibody ADCs. Through this, the company aims to strengthen its drug development capabilities and, from a long-term perspective, explore various opportunities for collaboration with Eli Lilly in new drug development.
Lee Sanghoon, CEO of ABL Bio, stated, "We are very pleased to have attracted a strategic equity investment from Eli Lilly, a leader in innovative drug development, following our technology transfer agreement for the Grabody platform. ABL Bio plans to expand the indications of the Grabody platform to high unmet medical needs such as obesity and muscle diseases. We hope this collaboration with Eli Lilly will become a significant turning point in providing innovative treatment options to patients worldwide."
Meanwhile, on November 12, ABL Bio signed a technology transfer and joint research and development agreement with Eli Lilly for the Grabody platform, worth a total of 2.602 billion USD (approximately 3.8236 trillion KRW), including an upfront payment of 40 million USD (about 58.8 billion KRW). Based on this agreement, the two companies plan to develop multiple therapeutics utilizing various modalities based on the Grabody platform.
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