[Edaily Reporter KIM SAE-MI ] APIT Bio announced on the 13th that it has signed an exclusive license and lead compound technology transfer agreement with Mothers Pharmaceutical for its L1CAM-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) pipeline, “APB-H101.”
Under this agreement, APIT Bio will receive an upfront payment of 2.65 billion won, which includes the costs for registering the antibody patent. The company will also be separately reimbursed for any future patent registration and maintenance costs. APIT Bio is set to receive milestone payments at each stage of development and commercialization, as well as ongoing royalties based on product sales. The specific amounts of the milestone payments and the royalty rate, excluding the upfront payment, were not disclosed.
If Mothers Pharmaceutical transfers the technology to a third party following further development, the two companies will distribute the technology transfer proceeds according to an agreed-upon ratio. Through this arrangement, APIT Bio plans to secure not only the initial contract payment but also additional revenue from subsequent technology transfers and commercialization.
APB-H101 is an ADC candidate currently under development by APIT Bio based on “APB-A001” (Ab612), a fully human anti-L1CAM antibody discovered in-house by the company. APB-A001 received approval for its Phase 1 clinical trial plan (IND) from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in June 2023. APIT Bio expects to reduce ADC development time and costs by leveraging its existing experience in antibody development.
L1CAM (CD171) is a protein involved in cell adhesion and migration, and it is known to be overexpressed in various solid tumors, including ovarian cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and bile duct cancer. In some cancer types, L1CAM expression is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis, making it a target for anticancer drug development.
An official from APIT Bio explained, “Ono Pharmaceutical in Japan has also previously licensed ‘LCB97,’ an L1CAM-targeted ADC candidate, from LigaChem Biosciences.”
This agreement is an example of a collaborative relationship established through a government-supported open innovation initiative leading to a technology transfer. Previously, ApitBio was selected for the “2026 Public-Private Partnership Open Innovation Support Project—Everyone’s Challenge Bio,” organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development, with Mothers Pharmaceutical as the partner company.
APIT Bio has also been conducting research to identify lead compounds for L1CAM-targeted ADCs with support from the Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF). Based on this agreement, the two companies plan to pursue follow-up development and global technology transfer.
Yoon Seon-ju, CEO of APIT Bio, stated, “This agreement is a crucial starting point for realizing the commercial value of our ADC pipeline—built on an anti-L1CAM antibody we discovered in-house—and for advancing it toward further development and global commercialization.” She added, “Through strategic collaboration with Mothers Pharmaceutical, we will pursue the early technology transfer of innovative anti-cancer drugs with global competitiveness.”
Meanwhile, Mothers Pharmaceutical received approval for its preliminary KOSDAQ listing review on the 7th and is currently proceeding with an initial public offering (IPO). With specialty pharmaceuticals and contract manufacturing (CMO) as its core businesses, Mothers Pharmaceutical is expanding its business scope into the field of new drug development.
