In Clinical Trials
Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced that it signed an agreement to license its autoimmune disease drug candidate DWP213388 to Vitalli Bio, a subsidiary of Aditum Bio, a U.S. biotech investment company, at the Korea-U.S. Digital and Bio-health Business Forum held in Boston, the United States, on April 27.
Under the agreement, Daewoong Pharmaceutical will transfer the rights to the global development and commercialization of DWP213388 to Vitalli Bio, a subsidiary of Aditum Bio. Some Asian regions, including Korea, are excluded from the agreement.
The technology transfer agreement is about DWP213388, a drug candidate in Phase I clinical development, and is valued at USD 477 million (approximately KRW 63.91 billion), including an upfront payment of USD 11 million (approximately KRW 14.7 billion), excluding royalties. In addition to DWP213388, the agreement includes an option to transfer two other drug candidates being developed by Daewoong Pharmaceuticals.
DWP213388, which Daewoong is developing, is an oral autoimmune treatment based on the mechanism of selective dual inhibition of Brutons Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) and Interleukin-2-inducible T-cell Kinase (ITK), target proteins involved in the activation of immune cells such as B and T cells. Unlike existing therapies that inhibit either B or T cells, DWP213388 is a first-in-class drug that can inhibit both BTK and ITK.
In August, Daewoong received IND approval for a Phase 1 clinical trial from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The global autoimmune disease therapeutics market is expected to reach US$115 billion (146 trillion won) by 2022, growing at an average annual rate of five percent, according to global market research firm IQVIA.