INCHEON, KOREA & SHANGHAI-- Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. and Phrontline Biopharma, a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing a new generation of Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs), announced that the companies have entered into a global collaboration agreement to develop, manufacture and commercialize two ADC assets: TJ108, bispecific and dual-payload ADC, and another asset to be named. In addition, Samsung Bioepis will receive an exclusive license from Phrontline for one topoisomerase-1 inhibitor (TOP1i) payload which is applied to Samsung Bioepis’ ADC pipeline.

Phrontline’s TJ108 is TOP1i and tubulin inhibitor-based ADC directed against Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 3 (HER3), targets that are overexpressed in a variety of cancers, which contribute to aggressive growth and metastasis.[i,ii]

Under the terms of the agreement, Phrontline will receive an upfront payment and will be eligible to receive additional milestone payments tied to development and regulatory achievements.

“We are excited to partner with Phrontline in developing and advancing differentiated ADCs that target a broad range of indications,” said Kyung-Ah Kim, President and Chief Executive Officer, at Samsung Bioepis. “We will continue to explore new business opportunities to address unmet needs of patients, leveraging our proven development platforms.”

“Phrontline has honed its bispecific targeting technology to enhance payload delivery efficiency and has advanced an innovative dual-linker payload (DLP) platform that enables the simultaneous delivery of two payloads with balanced potency and distinct mechanisms of action through a branched-linker architecture, while supporting scalable and efficient one-step conjugation. This partnership accelerates our vision to establish bispecific, dual-payload ADCs as a new class of precision oncology medicines,” said Zhaoyuan ‘Tony’ Chen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Phrontline Biopharma. “Together with Samsung Bioepis, we will scale the DLP platform — beginning with TJ108 — to address resistance, heterogeneity, and durability challenges that limit today’s single-payload, single-target ADCs.”

Samsung Bioepis is expanding its pipeline beyond biosimilars to fulfill its mission of broadening patient access to treatments in the areas of unmet therapeutic needs. The development of ADCs could add into the company’s broad spectrum of therapeutic portfolio that covers immunology, oncology, ophthalmology, hematology, nephrology, neurology, and endocrinology.