[단독] Green Cross Labcell’s anticancer drug exports technology to Merck, USA… Total KRW 2 trillion

A domestic pharmaceutical company exports its own anticancer drug technology in the US to a global pharmaceutical company. The total contract size is expected to reach 2 trillion won. This is the third time a domestic pharmaceutical company recorded more than 2 trillion won in technology exports to Hanmi Pharmaceutical and Alteogen.

Atiba Biotherapeutics, an affiliate of GC Green Cross, announced on the 28th (local time) that “we have signed an exclusive cooperation and license agreement with Merck, an American pharmaceutical company, for NK cell therapy.” Merck, an American pharmaceutical company, is a separate company from Merck, Germany, and uses the company name MSD in countries other than North America.

Accordingly, GC Green Cross will export NK cell therapy to Merck. NK cells play a role of directly attacking and destroying virus-infected cancer cells from leukocytes responsible for immunity. Cell therapy, which is being developed as an immune anticancer drug, attacks solid tumor-associated antigens.

All of these technology exports are worth 1.86 billion dollars (about 290 billion won). Atiba Biotherapeutics will receive a down payment of 30 million dollars (about 33.5 billion won). Later, if Merck exercised the option, it could receive an additional $15 million (about 16.7 billion won). In addition, each time Atiba Biotherapeutics fulfills its technological goals step by step, it can receive royalties of $662 million (about 740 billion won) each. Separately, Merck provides research funding to Atiba Biotherapeutics.

In March 2019, GC Green Cross Labcell and GC (formerly Green Cross Holdings), the holding company of GC Green Cross Group, founded Atiba Biotherapeutics, a clinical research and development subsidiary in San Diego, CA, and transferred AB101 mass production technology. Atiba Biotherapeutics is conducting clinical trials in the US to develop NK cell therapy.

GC Green Cross Lab Cell, which has acquired the original AB101 technology, receives a technology fee (milestone) whenever Atiba Biotherapeutics succeeds in a phased clinical trial. Milestone refers to the revenue received whenever the result progresses after signing a technology sales contract in the early stages of a clinical trial for a new drug. Atiba Biotherapeutics was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for phase 1 and phase 2 trial plans last December.

Since then, Atiba Biotherapeutics is confirming the safety and effectiveness of the treatment by co-administering AB101 and an antibody treatment (Rituxan) to blood cancer patients at 20 cancer centers in the United States. Patients with lymphoma who have previously administered other anticancer drugs but have not shown any therapeutic effect or whose tumor has recurred are the subjects of clinical trials.

According to the results of a study published by GC Green Cross Labcell at the European Hematology Association last year, when AB101 and Rituxan were administered concurrently to lymphoma patients, half of all patients (50%) had partial remission (PR and tumors reduced more than half, resulting in symptoms for more than 4 weeks. This non-deteriorating state) was observed, and no side effects were found. GC Green Cross explained, “We have confirmed the anticancer effect of AB101 in various indicators such as tumor suppression ability and survival rate.”

“We look forward to working with Atiba Biotherapeutics to develop NK cell-based treatments,” said Nick Hayning, vice president of oncology and immunology at the Merck Institute.

Jin Hong-guk, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, said, “This contract between the two companies has the nature of exporting technology to the original platform, unlike the method of transferring only the technology of a specific new drug candidate.”

Reporter Moon Hee-cheol [email protected]