LegoChem Bio, Amgen sign ADC platform deal for up to $1.2 bn

South Korean pharmaceutical firm LegoChem Biosciences Inc. said on Dec. 23 it has transferred the antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) technology platform to US biopharmaceutical giant Amgen Inc. for up to $1.2 billion.

Under the contract, Amgen has secured the rights to develop and commercialize the ADC by using the US pharma's antibody and LegoChem Bio's next-generation ADC platform.

The deal value includes the upfront payment and technology milestones. Royalties on sales may be given separately if the commercialization of the platform succeeds.

ADCs are targeted drugs that combine monoclonal antibodies specific to surface antigens on particular tumor cells. They are used to treat various forms of cancer.

LegoChem Bio said its ADC platform has higher efficacy, safety and tolerability that enables the production of drugs with a wide therapeutic index, a measurement of medicine’s relative safety, and high manufacturing yield to produce quality drugs. 

The Korean drug developer has signed a total of 12 agreements of licensing-out and optioning technologies in ADC products and platforms, marking a maximum of 6.5 trillion won ($5.1 billion) deal values.

In December 2021, LegoChem Bio signed a technology transfer agreement of its ADC product candidate LCB14 with UK biopharmaceutical firm Iksuda Therapeutics. The deal size was $50 million including upfront payment and technology milestones, with an additional value of up to $1 billion for regulatory approvals and sales milestones. 

Write to Ye-Na Kim at yena@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.