Yuhan Yanghang Subsidiary ImmunOncia Secures $470 Million Technology Licensing Deal

On the 30th, Song Yoon-jung, CEO of ImmunOnsia (fourth from the left), and ImmunOnsia employees held a commemorative photo session after signing a technology transfer agreement. (Provided by ImmunOnsia)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] ImmunOncia, a subsidiary of Yuhan Corporation, has signed a technology transfer agreement worth a total of $470.5 million (approximately 533.1 billion KRW).

ImmunOncia announced on the 31st that it has signed a technology transfer agreement worth a total of $470.5 million (approximately 533.1 billion KRW) with 3D Medicine, a next-generation immuno-oncology drug development company in China.

Through this agreement, ImmunOncia has granted 3D Medicine exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the CD47 antibody anticancer drug candidate ‘IMC-002’ in the China region (including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). ImmunOncia plans to continue development and pursue technology transfer in other regions.

The contract amount includes an upfront payment of $8 million (approximately 910 million KRW) and milestone payments totaling $462.5 million (approximately 524.2 billion KRW) based on clinical development approval, commercialization, and sales within the China region. Additionally, stepwise royalties based on sales revenue are separate, so ImmunOncia’s total earnings could increase further.

3D Medicine, which has acquired exclusive development and commercialization rights for IMC-002 in China, plans to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the China National Medical Products Administration within this year.

IMC-002 is a drug targeting CD47, a next-generation immune checkpoint target. It is evaluated as a differentiated second-generation CD47-targeting antibody with enhanced drug specificity and safety against cancer cells compared to other drugs. It is currently undergoing Phase 1 clinical trials in the United States.

Yoonjung Song, CEO of ImmunOncia, stated, "3D Medicine is one of the leaders in the Chinese oncology field, with a track record of successfully developing multiple externally sourced oncology pipeline drugs," and added, "Through the technology transfer agreement with 3D Medicine, we expect Chinese cancer patients to benefit from IMC-002 treatment more quickly." John Gong, CEO of 3D Medicine, said, "We are very pleased to partner with ImmunOncia," and continued, "We expect to change the treatment paradigm for various cancer types through combination therapy of IMC-002 with Envafolimab, the world’s first subcutaneous PD-L1 antibody therapy recently approved for marketing in China, and existing standard treatments.”

ImmunOncia is an immuno-oncology specialized bio-venture company jointly established by Yuhan Corporation and US-based Sorrento Therapeutics. It is also conducting Phase 2 clinical trials of ‘IMC-001,’ an antibody therapy targeting PD-L1.

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