Celltrion Partners with the Canadian Biotech Company, iProgen Biotech to Develop a Series of Novel ADCs

April 8, 2019 Off By BusinessWire

Celltrion signs a partnership deal with the Canada-based iProgen
Biotech Inc. to bolster its pipeline for novel biotherapeutics.
The deal aims to co-develop up to 4 ADCs including a novel ADC
(Antibody-drug conjugate) that targets breast cancers expressing low
levels of HER2 using iProgen’s proprietary antibody drug delivery
technology.

INCHEON, South Korea & VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CD20?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#CD20lt;/agt;–On April 8, Celltrion
(KRX:068270) and the Canada-based iProgen Biotech Inc. announced to
agree to partner for the development of novel ADCs against validated
antibody targets, including HER2¹ and CD20².

The terms of the partnership agreement include: (1) Celltrion
manufactures and supplies four recombinant antibodies to iProgen, among
which two are HER2 and CD20 targeting, selected by Celltrion, and two
additional targets to be selected by iProgen, (2) Celltrion provides
supports for the Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Control (CMC) activities
for the IND application and the Phase-1 clinical trial, (3) iProgen
conducts the Phase-1 clinical trial using these drug candidates, and (4)
upon completion of Phase 1, Celltrion has the right of first negotiation
on these drug candidates for global in-licensing.

The antibodies encompassing iProgen’s proprietary delivery technology,
Antibody Delivery Enhancing Domain (ADED) is expected to increase
anti-tumor efficacy by enhancing the drug delivery and internalization
to cancer cells. The ADED technology is applied to anti-HER2 ADCs to
potentially treat not only the breast cancer patients with high levels
of HER2 expression more effectively but also those with low levels with
no approved targeted therapies. In addition to HER2, other tumor
antigens may be therapeutically targeted by ADCs that embody this
technology.

The representative of Celltrion said, “Celltrion has been searching for
novel technologies that could expand the use of existing antibody
therapeutics and produce biobetters and next-generation biotherapeutics,
in order to bolster its pipeline outside biosimilars and small
molecules,” adding that “We will keep on enriching our pipeline to
include a panel of oncology drugs, as part of the effort to improve
patients’ lives worldwide.”

About Celltrion, Inc.

Headquartered in Incheon, Korea, Celltrion is a leading
biopharmaceutical company, specializing in research, development and
manufacture of biosimilar and innovative drugs. Celltrion strives to
provide more affordable biosimilar mAbs to patients who previously had
limited access to advanced therapeutics. Celltrion received FDA and EC’s
approval for INFLECTRA^® and Remsima^®,
respectively, which is the world’s first mAb biosimilar to receive
approval from a regulatory agency in a developed country. For more
information, visit www.celltrion.com.

About iProgen Biotech

Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, iProgen Biotech is a pre-clinical
stage Canadian biotechnology company. Its antibody delivery enhancing
technology improves delivery and internalization of antibody drugs at
targeted cancer cells.

¹ HER2 is the human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2
and its over-expression has been shown to play a role in the development
and progression of certain aggressive types of breast cancer.

² CD20 is an activated-glycosylated phosphoprotein expressed
on the surface of all B-cells beginning at the pro-B phase and
progressively increasing in concentration until maturity and found on
B-cell lymphomas, hairy cell leukemia, B-cell chronic lymphocytic
leukemia, and melanoma cancer stem cells.