ABL Bio said Monday that it has signed a license-out and cooperative agreement with Yuhan Corp. for the joint development of its new immunotherapy drugs based on bispecific antibodies.

Under the accord, the company will transfer technology for its two bispecific antibodies -- ABL104 (colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer) and ABL105 (breast cancer, stomach cancer). The two companies plan to cooperate on developing the cell line and non-clinical trials for the candidates. Afterward, Yuhan plans to conduct clinical trials and commercialize the drugs.

In detail, ABL Bio will be responsible for deriving the bispecific antibody candidate. The company will receive a contract fee and milestone payouts at non-clinical and clinical stages, and royalties after commercialization. Yuhan will acquire exclusive global rights for the two drug candidate.

The new bispecific antibody immunotherapies developed jointly by the two companies use an antibody that specifically binds to the antigen. It acts on both immune cells and cancer cells to maximize the immune response and anti-cancer effects of cancer cells.

“This contract, which is the company’s third joint development and licensing-out contract after our agreement with Dong-A ST and TRIGR Therapeutics, proves the company’s technological prowess both internally and externally,” ABL Bio CEO Lee Sang-hoon said. “We will work with leading domestic and overseas pharmaceutical companies to develop innovative anti-cancer drugs and lay the foundations for joint growth.”

Yuhan also showed high expectation for the cooperative agreement.

“We are pleased to partner with ABL Bio, which has a unique bispecific antibody technology,” Yuhan Research Director Choi Soon-kyu said. “We expect the agreement will strengthen our R&D portfolio by securing additional bispecific antibody drug pipeline in the field of immunotherapy.”