LegoChem strikes historic $1.7B license deal with Janssen

Korean biopharmaceutical firm LegoChem Biosciences signed a $1.7 licensing deal with Janssen Biotech for its solid cancer treatment candidate, LCB84, which targets colorectal and gastric cancer tumors.

LegoChem Biosciences' headquarters in Daejeon [LEGOCHEM BIOSCIENCES]

LegoChem Biosciences, a Korean biopharmaceutical company, signed a landmark $1.7 billion licensing deal with Janssen Biotech for its solid cancer treatment candidate.

It is Korea’s largest licensing deal ever, breaking the previous record set by Chong Kun Dang’s $1.3 billion deal in November. LegoChem’s LCB84 is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidate designed to target various solid tumors such as those seen in colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. ADCs, often dubbed “guided missile” drugs, have highly targeted therapeutic effects against cancer but cause minimum damage to non-tumor cells.

With the signing of the license and collaboration agreement on Friday, Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen will hold exclusive rights to research, clinical studies and sales of LCB84, LegoChem said in its regulatory filing Tuesday.

The two companies will proceed with the ongoing phase 1 and 2 clinical studies together before Janssen exercises its option to fully take over the development.

While the license deal is valued at $1.72 billion, Janssen agreed to an upfront payment of $100 million upon the signing of the deal with an option grant for exclusive rights for the development set at $200 million.

Janssen will later pay $1.42 billion each time certain drug development objectives are attained. Licensing royalties will be paid separately based on the drug’s sales performance in the future.

LegoChem’s stock price surged 10.38 percent on the Kosdaq Tuesday to close at 57,400 won ($44.24).

The deal is just the latest milestone for Korea's biopharmaceutical sector. The prior record-holding deal was Chong Kun Dang's $1.3-billion license agreement with Novartis for its rare genetic disease treatment candidate, which included an $80 million upfront payment.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]