[Edaily Reporter Hong Ju-yeon ] Samsung Bioepis and #IntoCell, Inc. are partnering to jointly develop new antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) drugs. On the 22nd, the two companies announced that they had signed a definitive agreement for the first candidate compound under this collaboration.

The two companies had previously signed a joint research agreement in December 2023 to identify up to five new ADC drug candidates. This latest agreement is a follow-up R&D and commercialization agreement focused on “SBE303,” a Nectin-4 protein-targeted solid tumor therapy candidate currently undergoing a global Phase 1 clinical trial.

The agreement includes development and sales milestones (payments for R&D achievements) as well as royalty terms based on sales. The total value of the agreement and specific terms were not disclosed in accordance with the agreement between the two companies.

Kim Kyung-ah, President of Samsung Bioepis, stated, “This agreement marks an important milestone for Samsung Bioepis as we expand our business scope into the field of next-generation anticancer drugs through collaboration with a domestic company, and we will continue to pursue R&D innovation to address various unmet medical needs.”

Park Tae-kyo, CEO of IntoCell, Inc., said, “We expect that through this collaboration, IntoCell, Inc.’s linker platform technology will generate meaningful results in the global market,” adding, “We will continue to work closely with Samsung Bioepis to ensure that the follow-up programs currently underway yield positive outcomes.”

Meanwhile, Samsung Bioepis participated in the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting last April and presented the preclinical study results for SBE303. The findings confirmed the potential for improved antibody-tumor cell binding specificity and intracellular drug delivery efficiency compared to existing Nectin-4-targeted anticancer drugs.