Celltrion to invest $47 mn in cancer-treating ADC developer Iksuda

Celltrion Inc. together with Mirae Asset financial group is investing $47 million in Iksuda Therapeutics to become the largest shareholder of the U.K.-based antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) developer.

The Korean biotech major already has executed half of the investment. The remaining investment will be made immediately after pre-agreed development milestones are reached, according to Celltrion on Monday.

Celltrion will become the largest shareholder of Iksuda Therapeutics after the final investment. Mirae Asset Group’s asset management units are also taking part of the deal as investors.

Iksuda Therapeutics specializes in developing ADCs, a class of biopharmaceutical drugs designed as a targeted therapy for treating cancer. Its ADC pipeline includes those for B-cell lymphomas, lung cancer and gynecological tumors.

Celltrion plans to leverage Iksuda Therapeutics’s ADC technology on further expanding its cancer treatment offerings beyond blood cancer drug Truxima and breast cancer drug Herzuma.

On Monday, Celltrion shares closed 0.56 percent lower at 265,500 won ($238.57).

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