Samsung Bioepis and Protina have entered into a licensing option agreement to leverage the results of a government-funded project aimed at developing antibody drugs using artificial intelligence (AI).
Industry sources revealed on Thursday that this agreement follows a national project spearheaded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The project, which began last October, is a collaborative effort between Protina, Samsung Bioepis, and Professor Baek Min-kyung’s research team from Seoul National University’s Department of Life Sciences. The financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed, as agreed upon by both parties.
The contract sets a 2027 deadline for identifying AI-designed antibody drug candidates. Under this agreement, Protina will lead the discovery and validation of potential candidates, while Samsung Bioepis will oversee preclinical research up to the Investigational New Drug (IND) application.
Should Samsung Bioepis exercise its licensing option, it will proceed with clinical trials and commercialization. In return, Protina will receive milestone payments and royalties based on research and development achievements.
Protina has developed a groundbreaking technology that addresses a major bottleneck in drug development. Their high-speed, large-scale antibody modification and performance measurement platform can analyze over 10,000 antibody sequences simultaneously each week, reducing the verification process from several months to just two weeks.
Samsung Bioepis has established itself as a global leader in biopharmaceutical research and development. The company has secured approvals for 11 biosimilar products from key regulatory bodies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Notably, Samsung Bioepis has maintained a perfect record in clinical trials, with no rejections for IND approvals.
Kim Kyung-ah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Samsung Bioepis, commented on the agreement: This partnership allows them to apply the expertise in process optimization, honed through biosimilar development, to the field of novel antibody drug development. They’re committed to fulfilling the objectives of this government-sponsored project through close collaboration with the partner.
Yoon Tae-young, CEO of Protina, expressed his enthusiasm: By integrating AI with the experimental verification platforms, it believes this agreement with Samsung Bioepis marks a pivotal step in translating the research into tangible new drugs. Yoon also noted that Protina had previously received support from the Samsung Future Technology Foundation for five years, from 2014 to 2018.