ABL and Voronoi, Inc.Showcase
New Anticancer Drug Results at ESMOKorean pharmaceutical and biotech companies successively unveiled clinical results for new anticancer
drug candidatesat ESMO 2026, held in Madrid, Spain, from the 23rd to the 27th (local time).
ABL Bio Inc. announced additional analysis results from the Phase 1b clinical trial of “Zibastomig” (ABL111), a bispecific antibody immuno-oncology drug being co-developed with U.S.-based Novabridge Biosciences.
Zibastomig is a bispecific antibody that simultaneously targets Claudin18.2, which is expressed on cancer cells, and 4-1BB, which is involved in the activation of immune cells. It was developed using ABL Bio Inc.’s bispecific antibody platform, “Grabody-T.”
A total of 71 participants took part in the Phase 1b clinical trial, including 31 in the 8 mg/kg dose group and 40 in the 12 mg/kg dose group. After comprehensively evaluating efficacy, safety, and long-term follow-up results, the company selected 8 mg/kg as the dose for subsequent clinical development.
Among the 29 patients in the 8 mg/kg dose group for whom efficacy could be evaluated, 23 showed tumor shrinkage beyond a certain threshold, resulting in an objective response rate (ORR) of 79%. The disease control rate (DCR)—the proportion of patients whose tumors shrank or did not progress further—was 97%.
The objective response rate was 82% in the patient group with a Claudin 18.2 expression rate of 75% or higher. It also reached 75% in the patient group with an expression rate ranging from 1% to 74%. This result is seen as demonstrating treatment potential even for low-expression patients who are difficult to treat with currently approved Claudin 18.2-targeted therapies.
ABL Bio Inc. and Novabridge have discussed the design of a global Phase 3 clinical trial for Zibastomig with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The two companies have finalized their agreement on the key elements of the clinical trial design. Zibastomig has previously received Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations from the FDA.
Voronoi, Inc. also released the results of the Phase 1 clinical trial for “VRN10,” a HER2-targeted anticancer drug it developed in-house. VRN10 targets HER2 mutations and overexpression involved in cancer cell proliferation.
Partial responses were observed in 5 out of 12 patients with HER2-mutated solid tumors for whom efficacy could be assessed. By mutation site, 2 out of 5 patients with tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) mutations and 3 out of 7 non-TKD patients with mutations outside the TKD region showed partial responses. Notably, all three patients with HER2-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) demonstrated partial responses.
A 56.1% reduction in lung lesions was also observed in a non-small cell lung cancer patient who had received seven prior treatments, including “Enhertu,” an HER2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). The size of brain lesions also decreased.
Meanwhile, at this year’s ESMO conference, in addition to ABL Bio Inc. and Voronoi, Inc., other Korean companies—including SillaJen, Inc., LigaChem Biosciences, and Alteogen Inc.—also presented research findings related to bispecific antibodies, targeted anticancer drugs, and antibody-drug conjugates.
Lunit Inc. Partners with U.S.-BasedSummit
Therapeutics to Identify Biomarkers for ‘Ibonecimab’Medical AI company Lunit Inc
.announced on the 26th that it has entered into a collaboration
with U.S.biotech firm Summit
Therapeutics to conductAI-based
biomarkerresearch for the development of the next-generation immuno-oncology drug ibonecimab.
Summit Therapeutics is a cancer drug development company listed on the U.S. Nasdaq. It has acquired the development and commercialization rights for Ivonesimab in key regions—including the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Japan—from China’s Akeso and is currently conducting global clinical trials.
Ibonecimab is a bispecific antibody that simultaneously inhibits programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1), which is involved in cancer cell immune evasion, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which promotes tumor angiogenesis. It works by activating the anticancer activity of immune cells while blocking the formation of blood vessels that supply nutrients to cancer cells.
Phase 3 clinical trials are currently underway for various cancer types, including non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer, bile duct cancer, bladder cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer. In a Phase 3 clinical trial for non-small cell lung cancer presented last September at the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC 2026), results showed a statistically significant improvement in overall survival (OS) compared to “Keytruda” (generic name: pembrolizumab), the current standard immunotherapy.
AstraZeneca also recently invested $2 billion (approximately 2.7 trillion won) in Summit Therapeutics and agreed to conduct a global clinical trial combining ivonesimab with an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) currently under development by AstraZeneca.
Summit Therapeutics will apply Lunit Inc.’s AI biomarker platform, “Lunit Scope IO,” to its ivonesimab research. Lunit Scope IO is a technology that analyzes hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained tissue slides—commonly used in histopathological examinations—to identify characteristics of the tumor microenvironment.
Based on the analysis results, the two companies will search for biomarkers to identify patient groups likely to respond to ibonesimab. They also plan to use the findings to identify the causes of variations in treatment response among patients and to refine future clinical trial designs and patient selection strategies.
This collaboration has drawn attention as an example of how Lunit Inc.’s AI pathology technology is being applied beyond cancer diagnosis to the global development of new anticancer drugs. Consequently, on the 26th—the day of the announcement—Lunit Inc.’s stock price hit the daily upper limit, rising 30% from the previous trading day to 14,690 won.
