Syntekabio and Panoros Bioscience Sign MOU for Joint Development of Next-Generation Multi-Target Antibody Therapeutics

(From left) Panoros Bioscience CEO Hyesung Lim and Syntekabio CEO Jongsun Jung are conducting a business agreement ceremony. Photo by Syntekabio

On December 5, Syntekabio, an AI-driven drug discovery company, announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the joint development of next-generation multi-target antibody therapeutics with Panoros Bioscience, a company specializing in the development of new drugs based on multispecific antibodies.

Multi-antibodies represent a therapeutic strategy that can simultaneously regulate multiple targets with a single molecule, enabling the control of various immune pathways involved in complex diseases such as cancer. Although they are gaining attention as a next-generation modality, traditional antibody discovery methods rely on random screening, making it difficult to secure sufficient antibodies suitable for each target. Furthermore, there are fundamental limitations in experimentally deriving optimal structures through combinations.

To overcome these limitations, Syntekabio has developed Ab-ARS™, an AI-based antibody discovery platform that rapidly conducts the search, design, and optimization of antibody candidates. The five antibody candidates selected for this joint development were discovered through Syntekabio’s AI-driven Asset Programs, a platform that identifies both antibody and synthetic drug candidates. The Ab-ARS™ technology is utilized specifically for antibody discovery within this program.

Through this agreement, the candidate substances identified by Ab-ARS™ will be combined with Panoros Bioscience’s proprietary αART® technology to be developed as next-generation multi-antibody therapeutics. Recently, PB203, a triple-target immuno-oncology drug developed using αART® technology, was selected as a national new drug development non-clinical project.

PB203 can simultaneously regulate VEGF, PlGF, and PD-L1. For the five selected antibody candidates, Panoros Bioscience will handle production and in-vitro efficacy evaluation, after which Syntekabio will consider technology transfer for these substances. Both companies announced plans to jointly pursue the entire commercialization process, including preclinical and clinical development as well as global technology transfer.

Panoros Bioscience is a company with experience in antibody-based drug development in the field of immuno-oncology. CEO Hyesung Lim holds a Ph.D. from POSTECH and an EMBA from KAIST, and has over 20 years of experience in protein engineering and structure-based drug design. Syntekabio expects that this collaboration will accelerate the expansion of its platform into the antibody drug field. In particular, AI-based multi-target antibody development is an area with high demand for collaboration and technology from global pharmaceutical companies.

Jongsun Jung, CEO of Syntekabio, stated, “The combined technological capabilities of both companies will drive the development of next-generation multi-targeted therapeutics. We aim to achieve results in the global market based on the competitiveness of our AI drug development platform.”

Hyesung Lim, CEO of Panoros Bioscience, emphasized, “The synergy between Syntekabio’s AI technology and our multi-target antibody development capabilities will be strong. We will secure a pipeline of multi-target antibody therapeutics with high therapeutic value.”