Bridge Biotherapeutics, Pinotbio develop lung cancer treatment

South Korea's biotech companies Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc. and Pinotbio on Thursday said they will jointly develop new antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) for treating lung cancer, adding that they will seek candidate medicines for new ADCs over the next two years.

ADCs are next-generation antibody drugs and a new drug technology that has grabbed the spotlight of the global pharmaceutical industry. This anticancer drug attaches a chemical payload (drug) to an antibody and brings it to a target cancer cell.

If Bridge Biotherapeutics provides a "target" for lung cancer, Pinotbio will cooperate by linking the target to a drug using its own platform. In October last year, Pinotbio also signed a contract with drugmaker Celltrion of South Korea to discover drug candidates for ADCs.

Write to Jae-Young Han at jyhan@hankyung.com