On the 17th, SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS announced that it had signed a licensing agreement and a strategic equity investment agreement to secure global exclusive development and commercialization rights for 1ST Biotherapeutics’ new drug candidate for Parkinson’s disease.
Under the agreement, SK Biopharm will pay an upfront fee of 2.5 billion won. If certain conditions are met during the research, development, and commercialization process, it will pay additional milestone payments of up to 72.5 billion won, while milestone payments based on net product sales could reach up to $260 million (approximately 355.8 billion won). The total value of the agreement, including these amounts, is up to approximately 430.8 billion won. Following the product’s commercialization, running royalties based on net sales will also be payable.
Separate from the licensing agreement, SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS has also decided to make a strategic equity investment (SI) of 3 billion won in FirstBio. This move is seen as a strategic step to maintain a medium- to long-term collaborative relationship between the two companies during the subsequent development of the candidate compound.
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative brain disorder in which the number of neurons that produce dopamine gradually decreases, leading to impaired motor function and other symptoms. Current treatments are primarily used to alleviate symptoms such as tremors and movement disorders, so there is significant demand for therapies that can actually slow the progression of the disease itself.
The compound being acquired is a small-molecule, oral candidate that simultaneously inhibits Type 2 LRRK2 and c-Abl. Based on this dual-inhibition mechanism, it differentiates itself from existing therapies and holds the potential to be developed as a first-in-class treatment.
This candidate compound is designed to act on multiple mechanisms associated with the onset of Parkinson’s disease, including endolysosomal dysfunction and alpha-synuclein accumulation. FirstBio is currently conducting research to select a preclinical candidate compound. SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS plans to review follow-up development, including research for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, based on the progress and results of future studies.
This agreement marks the first instance of a candidate substance acquisition led by SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS’ Open Innovation Center (OIC). Through this, SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS has secured a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) candidate that intervenes in the disease progression itself, further expanding its central nervous system (CNS) pipeline.
It also serves as a concrete example of SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS’ “East-West Bridge” strategy. The “East-West Bridge” strategy involves identifying candidate compounds in Asia, validating them through preclinical and early clinical trials, and then leveraging SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS’ in-house clinical development and commercialization capabilities, along with global partnerships, to enhance the potential for entry into overseas markets. The OIC plays a key role in continuously identifying and validating promising new drug candidates across Asia and connecting them with SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS’ global development and commercialization capabilities.
Kim Jae-eun, CEO of FirstBio, said, “This partnership is highly significant as it combines FirstBio’s early-stage drug development capabilities with SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS’ global development and commercialization capabilities,” adding, “Based on close collaboration with SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, we will focus both companies’ capabilities to ensure that follow-up development proceeds successfully.”
Lee Dong-hoon, President of SK BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, remarked, “This agreement is an example of how we are expanding our central nervous system (CNS) portfolio through open innovation while concretizing our ‘East-West Bridge’ strategy, which connects promising Asian drug candidates to the global market.” He continued, “We plan to flexibly leverage our accumulated development capabilities and global partnerships to enhance the value of these candidates and explore the potential for developing next-generation disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that intervene in the disease progression itself.”
