Celltrion Signs Joint Research and Development Agreement with MustBio for Multi-Antibody New Drug

Full-Scale Enhancement of Multi-Antibody Pipeline

Celltrion announced on the 31st that it has signed a joint research and development agreement for a new immuno-oncology drug with MustBio, a domestic multi-antibody development company.

Through this agreement, Celltrion has secured joint development and global commercialization rights for a new drug candidate based on a “PD-1·VEGF·IL-2v triple fusion protein.” Celltrion will take the lead in all stages, including preclinical studies, cell line and process development, clinical trials, regulatory approval, and commercialization, based on the therapeutic candidate. MustBio will be responsible for the initial research and development phases, including candidate design and discovery and early animal efficacy studies, utilizing its proprietary multi-antibody platform and IL-2 variant-based cytokine platform.

Under this agreement, Celltrion will pay MustBio an upfront payment of 3 billion KRW. The total contract value, including the upfront payment, could reach up to 712.5 billion KRW, with up to 39.5 billion KRW in development milestones and up to 670 billion KRW in commercialization milestones (if cumulative net sales reach 1 trillion KRW). In addition, a 5% royalty on net sales will be paid separately upon successful commercialization.

MustBio is a company with anticancer cytokine engineering technology and has strengths in developing multi-antibody-based immuno-oncology drugs. Recently, it was recognized as a potential technology provider and selected as a participant in the third cohort of the “Seoul Bio Hub-Celltrion Global Open Innovation Program.”

The PD-1·VEGF·IL-2v targeted substance jointly developed by Celltrion and MustBio is a new anticancer drug candidate designed with various mechanisms of action to overcome the limitations of existing immuno-oncology drugs. It features a triple-antibody structure that combines: ▲ a PD-1 inhibition mechanism that enables immune cells to effectively recognize and attack cancer cells; ▲ a VEGF inhibition mechanism that blocks the formation of new blood vessels around tumors; and ▲ an IL-2 variant (IL-2v) that increases immune cell activation while reducing systemic toxicity, all within a single molecule.

Celltrion’s strategy is to develop a “best-in-class” immuno-oncology drug through the development of a triple fusion protein new drug in the increasingly competitive PD-(L)1 immuno-oncology market, which is intensifying due to existing bispecific antibodies and immune cell activation technologies. By securing this new substance, Celltrion will not only establish its first immuno-oncology drug pipeline targeting all solid tumors, but also further advance its anticancer drug pipeline.

A Celltrion representative stated, “Through this joint research and development agreement, we have secured a differentiated triple fusion protein immuno-oncology drug pipeline that will lead the next-generation immuno-oncology market. Building on Celltrion’s strengths in antibody technology, we will do our utmost to identify optimal candidates and accelerate development to deliver a ‘best-in-class’ new drug.”

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