Wellmarker Bio signs worth of $528 mn tech transfer deal

Wellmarker Bio, South Korea's oncology drug development company, announced on Monday that it has signed a technology transfer agreement with a European biotech company for its immune checkpoint inhibitor candidate WM-A1-3389.

The latest contract, which includes upfront payments and staged milestones, amounts to 700 billion won ($528 million), with separate royalties. The company did not disclose the identity of the contracting party. With this agreement, Wellmarker Bio has granted exclusive global rights for the clinical development and commercialization of WM-A1-3389.

WM-A1-3389 is an immune checkpoint inhibitor that targets a previously undisclosed novel immune checkpoint, stimulating the anti-cancer immune pathway. The company received approval for a Phase 1 clinical trial from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in April. It plans to initiate the first dosing for Phase 1a in solid cancer patients next month.

The company received support from the Ministry of Health and Welfare's New Drug Development Task Force and the follow-up project, National New Drug Development Project, for non-clinical stages. This contract was signed in collaboration with the UK-based agency PharmaVentures.

"As an unlisted bio company, achieving large-scale technology transfer in Europe is significant," CEO of Wellmarker Bio Jin Dong-Hoon said. "Through this agreement, we will grow into a specialized company in anti-cancer drugs with global competitiveness."

Wellmarker Bio is the first spin-off company from Asan Medical Center. It is developing innovative drugs based on biomarkers for predicting treatment responses using its core technology, a novel target discovery system. Currently, it has two drug candidates in Phase 2 clinical stages and two in non-clinical stages under development.

The WM-A1-3389 technology, exported this time, is under development as a treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. Another colorectal cancer-targeted therapy candidate, "WM-S1-030," is undergoing Phase 1 clinical trials in South Korea and Australia.

Wellmarker Bio applied for a technical evaluation for a special listing on the KOSDAQ market with the Korea Exchange on Sept. 11, aiming for listing on the KOSDAQ market in the first half of next year.

Write to In-hyuk Park at hyuk@hankyung.com