Appclon Secures US Patent for COVID-19 Treatment Technology... Gains Advantageous Position for Technology Export

Simultaneous Inhibition of Major Inflammatory Cytokines 'IL-6' and 'TNF-α'... Maximizing Therapeutic Efficacy
Successful US Patent Registration Following Korea, Europe, and Japan... Demonstrating Bispecific Antibody Technology
Potential COVID-19 Treatment to Prevent Cytokine Storm-Induced Death

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Appclon announced on the 19th that it has successfully obtained a U.S. patent for its next-generation autoimmune disease bispecific antibody drug AM201. 'AM201' is a novel bispecific antibody derived from Appclon's bispecific antibody platform AffiMab.

A company representative explained, "We have already secured patent registrations for this new drug technology not only in Korea but also in the European Union (EU) and Japan," adding, "The U.S. patent further validates the novelty and advancement of AM201 and the AffiMab platform."

AM201 is a next-generation antibody therapeutic that simultaneously neutralizes the major inflammatory substances 'IL-6' and 'TNF-α', which cause various autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. It may also be broadly applicable to diseases accompanied by a 'cytokine storm' caused by the overexpression of cytokines.

'IL-6' and 'TNF-α' are known as the two most important cytokines that cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) observed in the lungs of severe COVID-19 patients and trigger the 'cytokine storm.'

TNF-α is a validated target for autoimmune disease treatment, and the blockbuster antibody drug 'Humira®' is a representative TNF-α inhibitor, forming a market worth approximately 20 trillion KRW annually.

IL-6 signaling antibody therapeutics are being developed to overcome the limitations of targeting TNF-α alone. The rheumatoid arthritis treatment market is expanding around representative products such as Roche's Actemra® and Sanofi-Regeneron's Kevzara®. Notably, these products have been validated for their potential as COVID-19 treatments and are currently undergoing or planning clinical trials in the U.S. The market size for these products is expected to grow further.

Jongseo Lee, CEO of Appclon, stated, "Obtaining patents for AM201 in key countries such as Korea, Europe, Japan, and the U.S. demonstrates the technological capability of our bispecific antibody drug development platform and raises expectations for its future value." He added, "Especially by securing property rights for AM201 in the U.S., which forms the largest medical, pharmaceutical, and biotech market globally, we expect this to greatly support licensing-out (L/O) negotiations with global pharmaceutical companies based in the U.S. or those seeking licensing rights in the U.S. region."

An Appclon representative explained, "The COVID antibody therapeutic TF team is fully committed to developing new antibodies aimed at neutralizing the virus's infectivity directly," adding, "For severe patients who have already suffered serious lung damage due to viral infection, AM201 can be developed as a therapeutic to inhibit the 'cytokine storm.'"

The global autoimmune disease treatment market, which formed a scale of over 60 trillion KRW in 2014, is predicted to continue growing until 2022, reaching over 70 trillion KRW. The treatment market for major autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis is estimated to be around 50 trillion KRW in scale.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.