Korean Biotechs to Present Next-Gen Cancer Therapies at AACR Meeting
Korean biotech firms will present next-generation cancer therapies at the AACR meeting, including CAR-T platforms for solid tumors, mRNA-based treatments, radiopharmaceuticals, and bispecific antibody ADCs. Companies like AbClon, Verismo Therapeutics, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and SK Biopharmaceuticals will showcase their latest research.
Korean pharmaceutical and biotech corporations will unveil next-generation anticancer research at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting in San Diego. The meeting draws more than 20,000 corporate officials and researchers each year to present early clinical results, with technologies related to CAR-T cell therapies, mRNA platforms, and bispecific antibody ADCs expected to be showcased.
Research on CAR-T cell therapies will be unveiled at this meeting. CAR-T cell therapy extracts T cells from the patient, reengineers them to recognize cancer cells, and reinfuses them. However, CAR-T cells have been used for hematologic cancers such as leukemia and have not easily treated hard solid tumors. AbClon and Verismo Therapeutics, the U.S. subsidiary of HLB Innovation, will showcase CAR-T technologies at this meeting that overcome these limitations and treat solid tumors. AbClon will unveil its zCAR-T platform for solid tumors, using a substance called a switch that binds to tumor antigens to help CAR-T cells home in on solid tumors. Verismo Therapeutics will present interim phase 1 results for the CAR-T therapy SynKIR-110 targeting solid tumors and preclinical results for the CAR-T therapy SynKIR-310, which is effective against hematologic cancers.
At the meeting, attention is focusing on mRNA platforms and radiopharmaceuticals. Hanmi Pharmaceutical will unveil nine preclinical studies, including anticancer drugs using an mRNA platform. Hanmi Pharmaceutical's anticancer drug candidate p53 mRNA induces cancer cell self-destruction by expressing the p53 protein, a tumor-suppressor gene, inside cells. SK Biopharmaceuticals will unveil preclinical research on the radiopharmaceutical SKL35501, which targets NTSR1 overexpressed in colorectal and pancreatic cancers.
Research on bispecific antibody ADCs is also active. ADCs are a technology that treats cancer cells by attaching a drug to an antibody. Bispecific antibodies, which link two different antibodies, can provide better efficacy and higher safety than monospecific antibodies. Among Korean corporations, Dong-A ST will unveil research on a bispecific antibody ADC candidate being co-developed with its subsidiary Aptis, introducing ways to overcome resistance in solid tumors with bispecific antibody ADCs. ABL Bio will also present preclinical research related to bispecific antibody ADC candidates.