LigaChem Bio, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) developer, is accelerating its in-house clinical development by pursuing clinical entry for up to five candidate compounds this year. Building on funds secured through the National Growth Fund, the company plans to move away from its previous strategy focused on preclinical-stage technology transfers and instead directly develop promising pipelines through late-stage trials to raise its asset value.
At the "Global R&D Day" held Monday at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, LigaChem Bio CEO Park Se-jin said, "We have secured approximately 950 billion won in funds, including 500 billion won from the National Growth Fund." He presented the company's goal, adding, "Based on our differentiated ADC technology, we will accelerate clinical entry and, through independent development, secure five or more Phase 2 and 3 pipelines."
An ADC is a therapeutic that connects a cytotoxic drug to an antibody that targets cancer cells via a linker, enabling it to selectively attack cancer cells. Based on its platform "ConjuAll," which applies its proprietary linker technology, LigaChem Bio has signed a total of 15 technology export deals with global big pharma companies, worth a cumulative 9.6 trillion won.
LigaChem Bio plans to use the secured funds to expand the clinical entry of preclinical candidate compounds and its in-house late-stage clinical development. Senior Executive Vice President Chae Je-wook stressed, "We will pursue clinical entry for four to five preclinical candidate compounds annually and expand our late-stage clinical pipelines to raise the value of technology transfers."
The company is currently strengthening its own global clinical development. In the first half of this year, it received approval for the investigational new drug (IND) application for global Phase 1 and 2 trials of "LCB02A," an ADC targeting the "Claudin 18.2" protein, and is set to begin dosing its first patient in the third quarter. "LCB43," which targets "B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)," is also preparing for clinical entry with the goal of becoming a best-in-class drug.
Clinical results for out-licensed pipelines will also be revealed successively in the second half. Partner company Iksuda plans to announce interim Phase 1b results for "LCB14," a breast cancer and solid tumor treatment candidate, in December. "IKS03," a B-cell lymphoma drug candidate, will also release interim Phase 1 results the same month. In addition, "LCB71," a solid tumor and blood cancer treatment candidate being developed by CStone, is scheduled to reveal Phase 1b results in the second half of this year. Chae said, "If Iksuda or CStone conducts a third-party technology transfer to another big pharma, LigaChem Bio is structured to receive a portion of the upfront payment and milestones as well."
