Lee Seung-joo "Oreum Therapeutics, the Original DAC Company... Open Innovation, 'Basics' Are Important"

"When it comes to Degrader-Antibody Conjugates (DAC), Orum Therapeutics can be considered the pioneer. A few years ago, when we first started the research, many questioned 'why do this?' but Orum has steadily accumulated know-how. Now that everyone is starting to take interest, we are actively engaging in partnerships."

Lee Seung-joo, CEO of Oreum Therapeutics
Photo by Lee Chun-hee

On the 9th, Lee Seung-joo, CEO of Orum Therapeutics, said this during a meeting with reporters at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where Bio Korea 2024 is being held. Orum is at the forefront of the competition to develop DAC technology, regarded as the next-generation technology following Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC) in the oncology field.

If ADC, often described as a "cancer-targeting missile," is a structure combining an antibody (radar) that finds cancer cells, a cytotoxic payload (bomb) that attacks cancer cells, and a linker (missile body) that connects the two, DAC replaces the bomb part with a Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD) agent instead of a cytotoxic substance. TPD has the advantage of continuously degrading target proteins even with small doses, achieving sufficient efficacy, and ensuring safety since it is not a toxic substance. However, previously, when developed as oral drugs, there was an issue of degrading normal cells as well, but by utilizing the ADC approach, it becomes possible to precisely degrade only cancer cells.

Orum Therapeutics is the first company in the world to advance DAC, which combines ADC and TPD, into clinical stages. This achievement propelled it to become a rising star in K-bio. In September last year, Orum successfully completed a technology deal worth $180 million (approximately 246 billion KRW) by licensing its DAC candidate ORM-6151, which had received FDA approval for a Phase 1 clinical trial, to the global big pharma Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS).

The upfront payment of $100 million (about 137 billion KRW) accounted for 56% of the total contract value, indicating high expectations from BMS. In fact, BMS halted the development of their similar mechanism drug CC-90009 upon acquiring ORM-6151 and is attempting to accelerate ORM-6151’s clinical entry. Notably, ORM-6151’s preclinical studies directly compared its efficacy with CC-90009. Regarding whether this experimental design was intended with BMS collaboration in mind, CEO Lee said, "Not necessarily," explaining, "When developing new drugs, it is necessary to select control groups considering the possibility of competing drugs emerging, so we regarded CC-90009 as a good comparator."

Pipeline Status of Oreum Therapeutics
[Image Source=Oreum Therapeutics]

CEO Lee emphasized that good clinical design like this is essential for successful open innovation, including large-scale technology exports. He said, "After understanding which drugs are currently used and under development, we need to consider where to focus. If development concentrates on one of two drugs used in combination therapy, we aim to develop the other drug to enable combination therapy." He stressed that collaboration between clinical and research teams is crucial since clinical strategy must be considered from the planning stage. Furthermore, he advised not to forget the fundamental principle of addressing unmet patient needs, stating, "Following unmet needs aligns with partnership demands."

He continued, "We paid a lot of attention to basic but difficult-to-implement aspects," explaining that steady preparation on fundamental matters is necessary. CEO Lee said, "Even if the business development (BD) team works well, you cannot form partnerships if the data is poor," adding, "We invested not only in research and development but also in carefully organizing data and selecting good manufacturing partners."

Orum Therapeutics is currently pursuing a domestic listing. Last month, it passed the technology evaluation hurdle by receiving A and BBB ratings. CEO Lee said, "We plan to file for preliminary review for KOSDAQ listing in the first half of the year," and added, "Our goal is to go public (IPO) in the second half."

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