SillaJen said it inked a deal with Basilea Pharmaceutica, a Switzerland-based biopharmaceutical company, to license in the latter's BAL0891, an anticancer drug candidate.

Under the agreement, Basilea will receive an upfront payment of $14 million and can receive up to $335 million for milestones according to the development stage of the drug.

BAL0891 is a mitotic checkpoint inhibitor (MCI) that inhibits both Threonine tyrosine kinase (TTK) and Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), which are kinases involved in tumor induction and growth.

According to SillaJen, the drug is the only MCI that simultaneously inhibits TTK and PLK1.

As no TTK inhibitor or PLK1 inhibitor has received approval as an anticancer drug, SillaJen expects that BAL0891 will become a first-in-class drug if it can commercialize the treatment.

In December 2021, Basilea Pharmaceutica received the FDA nod to conduct phase 1 clinical trials of BAL0891 for metastatic solid cancer. The company plans to register the first patient within this year.

Based on the results of non-clinical trials, SillaJen plans to consider expanding BAL0891's indications to gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, and acute myeloid leukemia.

"We intend to maximize the value of BAL0891 by utilizing our experience in developing anticancer drugs, understanding the mechanism of action of immune anticancer drugs, and know-how in combination with immune anticancer drugs," a SillaJen official said. "With the introduction of this new substance, the company has completed all tasks given by the Korea Exchange (KRX) as a prerequisite for resuming trading on the Kosdaq market."

SillaJen recently submitted a statement of implementation of the improvement plan to the KRX and is awaiting a delisting review decision, which will come out no later than Oct. 12.

The KRX had suspended trading of SillaJen's shares in May 2020 after the company faced charges of embezzlement and breach of trust by the management.

In January, the KRX decided to delist SillaJen from the local stock market, citing a negative outlook regarding the firm's sustainable growth.

However, the company secured a chance to avoid delisting after the Kosdaq's market committee granted the grace period to rectify its business plan, including securing a new pipeline and recruiting a chief medical officer and researchers.

The upcoming decision by the exchange will determine the fate of around 160,000 retail investors of SillaJen, with minority shareholders holding more than 90 percent of the company's total shares.