Abclon, Abtis to co-develop antibody-drug conjugate

Abclon said Friday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Abtis to co-develop a new antibody-drug conjugate (ADC).

By combining Abclon’s ability to discover antibodies and Abtis’s ADC platform technology, the agreement aims to develop more safe and effective ADC than existing treatments, it said.

ADC is composed of antibodies, drugs, and linkers. ADC is a type of targeted cancer therapy that attacks specific cancer cells. It is an antibody-drug and cytotoxic drug connected by a linker. The main objective of ADC research is to develop a drug that targets specific cancer cells without causing adverse effects on healthy tissues. Therefore, the ability to discover excelling antibodies and make a stable connection of drugs in the blood with a linker are core techniques for ADC development, according to Abclon.

Abclon CEO Lee Jong-seo (left) and Abtis CEO Chung Sang-jeon signed an MOU to co-develop new antibody-drug conjugates at the Abtis office on Wednesday.

Abclon said it holds novel epitope screening technology (NEST) platform that discovers antibodies and epitope, the part of the connection. It also has the processes and technology to find antibodies that connect to specific epitopes of an antigen. Among such examples are AC101, the antibody treatment for gastric and breast cancer licensed out to Shanghai Henlius Biotech, and AT101 CAR-T cell therapy that the company has applied for IND.

Through the co-development project with Abtis, Abclon also plans to select antibodies developed by the NEST platform and make the best use of them.

Abtis has Abclick, its proprietary ADC linker platform technology that combines antibodies with drugs. Unlike the current site-specific ADC linker technologies, Abclick combines drugs to two specific amino acids without producing any variants of natural antibodies. As a result, its drug antibody ratio (DAR) is easily adjustable, enjoying an advantage in establishing CMC (chemistry, manufacturing, and control) and economic efficiency. According to the company, it is one of the world’s best ADC platform technologies that have high competitiveness.

“Through the fusion of Abtis’ Abclick ADC platform and Abclon’s NEST antibody platform technologies, we will develop a worldwide ADC treatment,” Abtis CEO Chung Sang-jeon said.

Abclon CEO Lee Jong-seo also said, “We plan to take the lead in the ADC market with synergies through a technological and strategic partnership that combines each company’s specialized expertise efficiently.”