Pinotbio inks $246 mn ADC agreement with U.S. biotech company

[Courtesy of Pinotbio, ConjugateBio]

Pinotbio Inc., a South Korean developer of antibody drug conjugate (ADC) platforms, said on Thursday that it signed a technology transfer agreement worth 320 billion won ($245.5 million) with ConjugateBio Inc., a U.S. biotech company.

ADC is a type of anticancer drug that chemically combines antibodies and drugs (payload) with a connecting substance called a linker.

Under the agreement, Pinotbio will transfer its ADC platform technology for a total of 10 drug targets to ConjugateBio. Pintobio will supply the drugs and linkers, while ConjugateBio will be responsible for target selection, antibody development, synthesis, and evaluation.

ConjugateBio is a biotech company specializing in ADC founded by Kum Yoo who worked as a clinician and business development expert at multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Merck & Co. and Novartis AG.

“We will make further efforts to successfully develop a diverse ADC pipeline utilizing our ADC platforms,” said Pinotbio Chief Executive Officer Jung Doo-young.

“We are confident that the combination of Pinotbio’s excellent ADC platform technology and our ADC development capabilities will enable us to develop competitive ADC drugs,” Yoo said. “We will do our best to enter Phase 1 clinical trials in 2024.”

The two companies entered into an ADC platform technology transfer agreement for five targets in June 2022. With this agreement, ConjugateBio has secured the rights to develop ADC for a total of 15 targets, for which Pinotbio will receive a total of $250 million, including upfront and milestone payments, with royalties to be received separately based on specific criteria.

The latest agreement also brings Pintobio closer to achieving accumulated milestone payments of 2 trillion won from ADC-related technology transfer and option agreements alone, the company said.