[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s ABL Bio said on July 3 it has entered into an agreement with TRIGR Therapeutics to grant a license for the global commercial rights of its pipeline of therapeutic antibodies to treat cancer to the US biotech firm.

Under the terms of the agreement, TRIGR will pay a total upfront fee of US$4.3 million to license the global rights, including all territories outside of Korea, to five antibodies currently under development by ABL Bio. ABL Bio will also receive research, regulatory and sales-based milestones of more than US$550 million in total, plus royalties. In addition, TRIGR will share the licensing revenue with ABL Bio in the event of out-licenses to a third party. The deal is expected to close before the end of the month. 

These therapeutic antibodies include blood-brain barrier-penetrating bispecific antibodies, immune cell-engaging bispecific antibodies and a monoclonal antibody against an undisclosed target.

“Our blood-brain barrier-penetrating antibodies are potentially best-in-class in the industry globally,” ABL Bio CEO Lee Sang-hoon said.

He added that the company will accelerate the development of these oncology candidates to Investigational New Drug application filing status in the US beginning next year while working closely with the TRIGR team.

Founded in 2016, ABL Bio has attracted some 29 billion won (US$25.92 million) from Korea Investment Partners, DSC Investment and other institutional investors.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)