Voronoi grabs $482.2 mn license deal with U.S. biotech firm METiS

South Korean precision medicine company Voronoi has entered a license agreement with METiS Therapeutics for the development and commercialization of its proprietary oral kinase inhibitor, which has potential to treat solid tumors such as lung cancer, melanoma, and colorectal cancer.

Kosdaq-listed Voronoi shares were uplifted by 6.3 percent to trade at 40,500 won as of 11:00 am Wednesday.

A kinase inhibitor induces mitosis defects in tumor growth by suppressing kinases involved in cell proliferation and survival.

Under the terms of the license agreement, Boston-based METiS with technology to integrate drug discovery and delivery with AI and machine learning will receive exclusive license to develop and commercialize Voronoi’s pan-RAF inhibitor program worldwide, while the Korean biotech company will receive $1.7 million in upfront cash. Voronoi is also eligible for success-based payment up to $480.5 million in development, regulatory and sales milestones and tiered royalties based on annual net sales.

The deal is conditional upon regulatory approval and the recognition of revenue from the transaction may vary depending on the success of clinical trials and product authorization, Voronoi said.

Voronoi established in 2015 develops multiple candidate substances that inhibit various kinases involved in intracellular signal transduction and cell cycle regulation.

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