Genexine inks deal to license out novel immunosuppressant agent to Turret Capital

Genexine shares gained nearly 15 percent Thursday morning upon news that the Korean biotech firm entered an agreement to license out its single-agent immune checkpoint inhibitor GX-P1 to U.S. healthcare-focused investment and venture building firm Turret Capital.

Genexine shares finished the day at 119,300 won ($108.21), up 4.19 percent.

GX-P1 is a novel immunosuppressant agent that reduces the immune response by binding to PD-1 on activated T cells and thus inhibiting T cell activation, and this mechanism is opposite to that of an anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor which is used to treat cancer.

Turret Capital will develop GX-P1 through its subsidiary Egret Therapeutics for the indication of stroke and endometriosis, among others.

Under the agreement, Genexine will receive 1 million shares or 5 percent of Egret Therapeutics¡¯ total outstanding shares as a down payment. Genexine is also eligible to receive additional payments in development and commercial milestones from $200 million to $1.5 billion when the drug is sub-licensed.

Currently, only a few candidate drugs are being developed as potential PD-L1-targeting therapies for autoimmune diseases and strokes, and GX-P1 and the market¡¯s most advanced product are in the same development stage of Phase 1, Genexine said.

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