Meta Fines, a drug repositioning company, said Thursday that it has signed a licensing-out agreement with BMI Korea for its cancer cachexia drug ASCA101_CC.

Under the agreement, BMI Korea will co-own the global technology transfer rights of ASCA101_CC with Meta Fines and will have the right to license the product in some countries, including Korea and Southeast Asia. Meta Fines will receive an upfront payment of 2 billion won ($1.51 million) and tiered milestone payments of 46 billion won from BMI Korea.

ASCA101_CC is a pipeline targeting cancer cachexia. Cancer cachexia is a complex metabolic disorder that accompanies cancer and chemotherapy, which is characterized by weight loss, fatigue, decreased appetite, and muscle wasting.

While cancer cachexia is common, affecting 50 to 80 percent of cancer patients, it is responsible for 20 percent of cancer patient mortality and a reason to discontinue chemotherapy, adversely affecting patients' quality of life. Currently, only products focused on improving appetite are available, and no treatments address the symptoms. The global market for cancer cachexia is estimated to be around 2 trillion won.

ASCA101_CC improves energy metabolism to inhibit catabolism in cancer patients and regulates cachexia-related inflammatory factors to prevent weight loss while improving muscle. In a phase 1 clinical trial in patients with advanced solid tumors, Meta Fines demonstrated prevention and improvement of weight loss and substantial and sustained increases in skeletal muscle mass throughout treatment.

Following this agreement, Meta Fines will conduct a phase 2 study to determine whether the treatment improves muscle function and patient quality of life and improves weight and muscle mass. Building on its cancer cachexia therapy, Meta Fines also plans to expand its pipeline to include cachexia and sarcopenia caused by common diseases and is currently preparing to enter phase 2 in ovarian and liver cancer.

"Through this partnership, we will improve the quality of life of cancer patients by developing new drugs in the field of cancer cachexia, for which there is no cure," a Meta Fines official said. "We will continue to develop into a company that can grow continuously through global technology transfer."