ABL Bio (298380) announced on January 5 that it will participate in the 5th East-West Biopharma Summit: Seoul, to be held from January 9 to 11.
The event is co-hosted by global biotechnology publication BioCentury and biotech executive network BayHelix, with global consulting firm McKinsey & Company participating as an insight partner.
The East-West Biopharma Summit brings together global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry stakeholders to share market trends and industry insights while exploring new business opportunities. Global pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly, Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, MSD, and GSK are expected to attend.
ABL Bio CEO Lee Sang-hoon will participate as a panelist in the "Dealmaker's Showcase" session on January 10, where he will share negotiation strategies, key lessons, and trial-and-error experiences based on his technology licensing deals with global pharmaceutical companies.
During the event, ABL Bio plans to hold business development meetings with global pharmaceutical companies visiting Seoul to explore various partnership opportunities. The technology currently attracting the most interest from global companies is the blood-brain barrier (BBB) shuttle platform "Grabody-B." In April last year, ABL Bio signed a Grabody-B technology licensing agreement with GSK worth 2.14 billion pounds (approximately 4.1 trillion won). In November of the same year, the company signed a Grabody technology licensing agreement with Eli Lilly worth a total of 2.602 billion dollars (approximately 3.8 trillion won) and secured a strategic equity investment of 15 million dollars (approximately 22 billion won).
The company also plans to continue sharing clinical data on its immuno-oncology pipeline utilizing the 4-1BB-based bispecific antibody platform "Grabody-T." Among these, "ABL111 (Givastomig)," the furthest along in development, is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for first-line treatment of metastatic gastric cancer patients. ABL Bio plans to expand clinical trials for other Grabody-T-based pipelines from monotherapy to combination therapy.
CEO Lee Sang-hoon said, "We plan to share the experience and know-how gained through the technology licensing process," adding, "As business meetings with global pharmaceutical companies continue to take place, we expect active partnership discussions during the event."
