Samsung to invest in South Korean ADC developer AimedBio

[Courtesy of Samsung Biologics]

Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics, and Samsung Bioepis announced on Wednesday that they have selected South Korean biotech company AimedBio as the fourth company to receive a stake investment via the company’s Samsung Life Science Fund. The investment amount has not been disclosed to date.

AimedBio is a company specializing in antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) development. Founded in 2018, it has received support from the Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF) for three investigative drugs, including AMB302 for the treatment of breast cancer and bladder cancer.

Samsung Biologics said that AimedBio is developing novel therapies by using artificial intelligence-based clinical trials of cancer patients and genomic information analysis and patient-derived experimental models based on the bio-platform technology research results related to Samsung Medical Center’s multi-omics and precision medicine, which were published in international academic journals.

In addition to the stake investment, Samsung Biologics plans to conduct joint research with AimedBio on ADC toolbox development and perform contract development tasks for AMB001, a candidate substance for the treatment of atopic dermatitis and Alzheimer’s disease, based on a single antibody.

Samsung said that it will continue to discover and invest in domestic biotech companies with advanced technology and collaborate through investment, joint research, and CDO agreements to actively promote the K-bio ecosystem.

Samsung Life Science Fund is operated with a total of 170 billion won, including 150 billion invested by Samsung C&T and Samsung Biologics in 2021, and an additional 20 billion invested by Samsung Bioepis in January.

Prior to AimedBio, the fund invested in U.S. gene therapy developer Jaguar Gene Therapy, United States nano-particle drug delivery developer Senda Biosciences, and Swiss ADC technology developer Araris Biotech.