ABL Bio lands $2.8 billion license-out deal with GSK

ABL Bio Inc., a South Korean biotech company, will license out its proprietary blood-brain barrier shuttle platform, called the Grabody-B, to UK-based pharmaceutical giant GSK plc in a deal expected to fetch up to 2.1 billion pounds ($2.8 billion).

Under the terms, ABL Bio will receive up to 77.1 million pounds in upfront and near-term milestone payments, including an upfront payment of 38.5 million pounds, from GSK for transferring its Grabody-B-related technology and know-how.

Using the shuttle platform, the UK pharmaceutical firm will be responsible for preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization of novel medicines for neurodegenerative diseases in the brain, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The Korean biotech firm is eligible to receive up to 2.1 billion pounds in research, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on net sales if GSK successfully commercializes treatments.

The agreement marks Korea’s largest-ever licensing deal for neurodegenerative brain disease treatments.

"This agreement underscores ABL Bio's leadership in BBB technology and its commitment to advancing transformative therapeutics in neurodegenerative diseases,” said Lee Sang-hoon, chief executive officer of ABL Bio.

On Monday, Kosdaq-listed ABL Bio shares rallied by the daily limit of 30% to end at 44,250 won, outperforming the Kosdaq index, which tumbled 5.3% on US tariff shocks.

Under the agreement, GSK will use the Grabody-B platform to develop novel drugs in multiple modalities, including antibodies, polynucleotides or oligonucleotides to treat neurodegenerative disorders in the brain.

The blood-brain barrier prevents harmful substances and agents from entering the brain. However, this protective function also poses a major challenge in developing effective treatments for central nervous system disorders.

ABL Bio’s Grabody-B platform is designed to improve drug penetration into the brain without disrupting the barrier’s protective function by targeting the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R), explained ABL Bio.

"There is a critical need for new therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative brain diseases, which are rapidly increasing in prevalence due to the aging of the population,” said Christopher Austin, senior vice president of GSK’s Research Technologies.

“Many of the most promising new therapies are antibodies, which cannot efficiently reach the brain without a shuttle to get them across the BBB. This agreement reflects our commitment to innovative platform technologies to overcome the BBB and thus open entirely new opportunities for treating these devastating diseases, an important component of our emerging pipeline." 

Established in 2016, ABL Bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company in Korea developing antibody therapeutics for immune-oncology and neurodegenerative diseases.

In 2022, it signed a $1.06 billion contract to license out its technology for a Parkinson's disease treatment candidate to French multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi S.A.

Write to Young-Ae Lee at 0ae@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.