Osungcotec, a new drug development company, announced on December 16 that it has transferred the technology for 'ADEL-YO1', an Alzheimer's drug candidate targeting tau protein that was co-developed with Adel, to the global pharmaceutical company Sanofi.
The contract is valued at up to 1.04 billion dollars (approximately 1.53 trillion won), with Osungcotec and Adel set to receive an upfront payment of 80 million dollars (about 118 billion won).
Through this agreement, Osungcotec and Adel will transfer the exclusive global rights for the development and commercialization of ADEL-Y01, while Sanofi will be responsible for the remaining clinical development, approval, production, and commercialization of ADEL-YO1.
ADEL-YO1 is an antibody that selectively targets acetylated tau, a core pathological factor of Alzheimer's disease among tau proteins.
It acts as a targeted therapy for 'tau protein acetylated at lysine 280', which is known to play a key role in the development of tauopathies, and has the advantage of selectively removing only pathological tau.
Adel was founded by Professor Yoon Seungyong of Asan Medical Center in Seoul, and in 2020, entered into a joint research and development agreement with Osungcotec to carry out production, preclinical, and clinical development.
Osungcotec will receive 47% of the revenue generated from the joint research and development.
Yoon Taeyoung, CEO of Osungcotec, stated, "I am very pleased that the 'open innovation strategy' we implemented after I joined Osungcotec in 2020 to secure new growth opportunities following Lazertinib has borne its first fruit. I am confident that ADEL-Y01, developed by Sanofi, will become an innovative treatment that brings new hope to Alzheimer's patients worldwide in the near future."
Yoon Seungyong, CEO of Adel, said, "This large-scale technology transfer agreement with the global pharmaceutical company Sanofi is a testament to the strength of Adel's technology and the potential of ADEL-Y01 in the global market. By collaborating with Sanofi, which possesses unrivaled capabilities in drug development and commercialization based on our scientific expertise, we hope to deliver hope as soon as possible to Alzheimer's patients around the world who are in urgent need of fundamental treatments."
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