[Edaily Reporter NA EUN-KYUNG ] #Aimed Bio Inc. has successfully administered the first dose to a patient in the Phase 1 clinical trial of a new antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) drug candidate licensed to Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim, paving the way for the company to receive milestone payments at each stage of development. The technology export agreement, signed last October and valued at up to $991 million (approximately 1.4 trillion won at the time), is now generating additional revenue based on actual clinical development results.

Aimed Bio Inc. announced on the 27th that the first patient dosing had taken place in the Phase 1 clinical trial of the ADC candidate “BI 4060107,” which it is jointly developing with Boehringer Ingelheim, thereby fulfilling the contractual requirements for receiving milestone payments. The company did not disclose the specific payment amount or the timing of receipt.

BI 4060107 is an ADC candidate discovered by Aimed Bio Inc., previously known as “ODS025.” The two companies signed a global technology transfer and joint development agreement on October 15 of last year. Boehringer Ingelheim has secured global development and commercialization rights for the candidate, while Aimed Bio Inc. is set to receive up to $991 million—including an upfront payment and milestones tied to development, approval, and commercialization—as well as separate sales-based royalties.

This entry into clinical trials comes approximately one year after the technology export agreement was signed. While Boehringer Ingelheim leads the clinical development, Aimed Bio Inc. is eligible to receive additional milestone payments based on subsequent development stages. However, the total contract value represents the maximum amount that can be received only if all future development and commercialization milestones are achieved.

This Phase 1 clinical trial will be conducted in patients with inoperable advanced or metastatic solid tumors. As the first human trial, its primary objective is to evaluate safety, tolerability, and the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) while gradually increasing the drug dosage. The clinical trial registration number is NCT07827144.

BI 4060107 is an ADC that targets a tumor-selective target highly expressed in cancer cells. An ADC is a therapeutic approach that delivers a cytotoxic drug to a tumor by conjugating it to an antibody that recognizes cancer cells. BI 4060107 is designed to target molecules involved in tumor growth, metastasis, and treatment resistance. However, the specific target name has not been disclosed.

Aimed Bio Inc. developed BI 4060107 based on its proprietary “P-ADC” platform, which identifies and validates anticancer drug targets using patient-derived cells, tumor models, and clinical data. A key feature of this approach is that it incorporates the characteristics of actual patients’ tumors from the early stages of research to select therapeutic targets and candidate compounds.

Aimed Bio Inc. is an ADC development company founded primarily by researchers from Samsung Seoul Hospital and listed on the KOSDAQ market on December 4 of last year. Prior to its listing, the company signed a technology transfer agreement with U.S.-based Biohaven in December 2024 and subsequently secured a large-scale agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim. The total value of technology transfer and joint development agreements secured through these and other deals exceeds 3 trillion won.

This milestone is significant as it represents additional revenue generated following the company’s listing, driven by progress in the clinical development of its existing technology export assets. However, since the actual amount received has not been disclosed, it is still difficult to specifically quantify the impact on the company’s financial performance.

Heo Nam-gu, CEO of Aimed Bio Inc., stated, “The first-in-human dosing marks a significant milestone as it signifies that BI 4060107 has moved from the drug discovery phase to the clinical evaluation phase,” adding, “We look forward to the continued development of BI 4060107 for patients with hard-to-treat cancers.”