Curacle (365270.KQ) shares surged on news of a large-scale technology export deal for its retinal disease bispecific antibody candidate.
As of 10 a.m. on the 11th, Curacle was trading at 17,220 won, up 2,680 won, or 18.03%, from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. The share price strength is attributed to news that the company signed a technology transfer agreement with U.S. biotech firm Memento Medicine worth up to $1.07775 billion (approximately 1.5636 trillion won).
Curacle said Tuesday it has licensed MT-103, a retinal disease bispecific antibody candidate jointly developed with antibody developer Maptics, to Memento. The contract covers global territory and includes potential development of additional indications beyond retinal diseases.
Commercialization milestones under the agreement total $987.5 million (approximately 1.4318 trillion won), accounting for 91.6% of the total deal size. Curacle and Maptics will first receive an upfront payment of $8 million (approximately 11.6 billion won), while development and regulatory milestones amount to $82.25 million (approximately 119.3 billion won). The two companies will split proceeds equally under their joint research and development agreement.
MT-103 is a retinal disease bispecific antibody candidate that combines Tie2 activation with an anti-VEGF mechanism. Designed to simultaneously induce vascular stabilization and suppress neovascularization, it targets indications including wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.
The ophthalmic disease treatment market has recently been shifting from conventional monoclonal antibody-based therapies toward bispecific antibody-based treatments. Roche's Vabysmo is cited as a leading example.
Curacle and Maptics said preclinical studies of MT-103 confirmed superior efficacy in suppressing vascular leakage and neovascularization compared with existing treatments Eylea and Vabysmo. The related results were presented orally at ARVO 2026, held recently in Denver.
