Biocytogen Enters Collaboration with ABL Bio to Develop New Bispecific Antibody-Drug Conjugates

BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co., Ltd. ("Biocytogen", HKEX: 02315), a global biotechnology company that drives the research and development of novel antibody-based drugs with innovative technologies, and ABL Bio Inc. (“ABL”, KOSDAQ: 298380), a Korean clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics in oncology and CNS diseases, today announced a collaboration to develop new bispecific antibody-drug conjugates (bsADCs).

Biocytogen’s RenLite^® mice platform can produce fully human antibodies with diverse epitopes and high affinity. This platform is notable for its ability to generate antibodies in a common light chain format, offering a distinctive combination of design flexibility, simplified manufacturing processes, and optimal developability for bsADC development. Based on this platform, both companies will be able to discuss expanding their collaboration for various types of ADC development.

Dr. Yuelei Shen, President and CEO of Biocytogen, said, “We are very pleased to collaborate with ABL, a company that possesses advanced platforms for cancer immunotherapy and treatments against CNS diseases. ABL’s consistent success in advancing its pipeline strongly showcases its expertise and capabilities in regulatory, clinical development, and business development activities. BsADC drugs derived from our RenLite^® mice platform have shown preferable potency in various tumor models, while also exhibiting good safety profiles. We believe our fully human bsADC platform technology, which features increased tumor selectivity, target synergized internalization, and convenient CMC development, will complement ABL's capabilities effectively. Together, we aim to expedite the development of innovative bsADC therapies.”

Sang Hoon Lee, CEO of ABL, said, “We are excited to establish this partnership with Biocytogen for bsADCs. This collaboration is one of the stepping stones for getting down to developing bsADCs. We look forward to a productive collaboration, and firmly believe that this partnership will contribute towards creating a distinctive pipeline, ultimately leading to novel therapies that improve the quality of life for patients.”

About Biocytogen

Biocytogen (HKEX: 02315) is a global biotechnology company that drives the research and development of novel antibody-based drugs with innovative technologies. Founded on gene editing technology, Biocytogen leverages genetically engineered proprietary RenMice^® (RenMab^TM/RenLite^®/RenNano^®/RenTCR-mimic^TM) platforms for fully human monoclonal/bispecific/multispecific antibody discovery, bispecific antibody-drug conjugate discovery, nanobody discovery and TCR-mimic antibody discovery, and has established a sub-brand, RenBiologics^TM, to explore global partnerships for an off-the-shelf library of >400,000 fully human antibody sequences against approximately 1000 targets for worldwide collaboration. As of June 30, 2023, 50 therapeutic antibody and multiple clinical asset co-development/out-licensing/transfer agreements and 42 target-nominated RenMice^® licensing projects have been established around the globe, including several partnerships with multinational pharmaceutical companies (MNCs). Biocytogen pioneered the generation of drug target knock-in humanized models for preclinical research, and currently provides a few thousand off-the-shelf animal and cell models under the company’s sub-brand, BioMice^TM, along with preclinical pharmacology and gene-editing services for clients worldwide. Headquartered in Beijing, Biocytogen has branches in China (Haimen Jiangsu, Shanghai), USA (Boston, San Francisco), and Germany (Heidelberg). For more information, please visit http://en.biocytogen.com.cn.

About ABL Bio

ABL Bio Inc. (KOSDAQ: 298380) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing antibody therapeutics for immune-oncology and neurodegenerative diseases. With internal R&D and global partnerships, ABL has developed multiple BsAb platforms, such as ‘Grabody-T,’ ‘Grabody-B’ and built an innovative pipeline of multiple clinical and pre-clinical stage drug candidates. In the oncology area, we have developed Grabody-T, a modular 4-1BB engaging platform that has demonstrated superior efficacy and safety. In the neurodegenerative disorder space, we have developed Grabody-B, which is designed to maximize blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration. Grabody-B is applicable to various CNS targets across a plethora of neurological disorders, potentially providing a breakthrough to address the high unmet medical needs in neurodegeneration. For more information, please visit www.ablbio.com.