Genexine said Thursday that it has signed a deal with KG Bio, an Indonesian pharmaceutical company, to transfer the technology of its GX-I7, an immunotherapy candidate.

Genexine CEO Sung Young-chul (left) and KG Bio CEO Sie Djohan hold up their license agreement. (Genexine)
Genexine CEO Sung Young-chul (left) and KG Bio CEO Sie Djohan hold up their license agreement. (Genexine)

Under the accord, KG Bio has acquired sales rights for GX-I7 to countries in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the Middle East, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and India. At the same time, Genexine will receive a down payment of $27 million.

Genexine is also eligible for additional payments of up to $1.1 billion in sales milestones with the progress of future clinical trials, product approval, and commercialization. There is no obligation to return the down payment and milestones. Separately, the Korean company can receive 10 percent of the sales as a royalty payment when sales of GX-I7 occur in the contracted area.

"The technology transfer has once again proved the value of GX-I7, a long-acting interleukin-7 product," Genexine CEO Sung Young-chul said. "Through active cooperation with global partners, including KG Bio, we will develop GX-I7 as a new blockbuster drug recognized in the global market."

According to Genexine, GX-I7 proves its value as an immunotherapy agent through various clinical trials targeting several carcinomas.

An interim result of phase 1b/2 clinical trials of the drug last year in combination with Keytruda, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, showed that the combination therapy treatment increased the objective response rate (ORR) by more than five times compared to a Keytruda monotherapy. The company also plans to conduct a combination clinical trial with Roche's Avastin.

In China, I-MAB biopharma, which received technology transfer of GX-I7 from Genexine, is undergoing phase 2 clinical trial of malignant glioblastoma (GBM) under the product name TJ-107.

In the U.S. and Europe, NeoImmuneTech is conducting clinical trials in combination with various anticancer drugs, such as Roche's Tecentriq, Merck's Keytruda, BMS' Opdivo, and Novartis Kymriah, under the product name NT-I7.

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