Dong-A ST said Monday that it has made a strategic equity investment and joint development agreement with Idience, a subsidiary of Ildong Holdings.
Idience, founded in 2019, has a diverse pipeline of novel anticancer drug candidates. One of them is venadaparib, a targeted anticancer drug candidate that selectively induces cancer cell death by inhibiting PARP (Poly ADP-ribose polymerase), an enzyme involved in DNA damage repair.
Under the terms of the agreement, Dong-A ST will invest about 25 billion won ($18.4 million) to become the second-largest shareholder in Idience, following Ildong Holdings. The investment grants Dong-A ST the right to co-develop combination therapies based on venadaparib.
Idience is advancing clinical development and commercialization efforts for venadaparib, targeting various cancers, including gastric, breast, ovarian, and PARP inhibitor-resistant cancers.
Venadaparib received orphan drug designation (ODD) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022 for gastric cancer and is undergoing clinical trials. Earlier this year, Idience unveiled promising interim results from a phase 1 study at the ASCO GI 2024 symposium, demonstrating broader application and superior efficacy compared to standard treatments, according to Dong-A ST.
“The partnership with Dong-A ST signifies recognition of Idience's R&D capabilities and the value of our pipeline,” Idience CEO Lee Won-sik said. “We are committed to collaborating with Dong-A ST to discover innovative cancer treatments and achieve success in new drug development."
Dong-A ST President Kim Min-young said, “We have continuously strengthened our oncology pipeline, and this agreement with Idience aims to enhance our capabilities in developing differentiated anticancer therapies.”
Kim added that by integrating Dong-A’s technologies and resources with Idience’s pipelines, the company seeks to develop innovative cancer treatments and explore various strategic cooperation avenues to grow together in the global market.
Dong-A ST has consistently invested in R&D to build a robust oncology pipeline.
Dong-A ST’s immunotherapy candidate DA-4505, an AhR (Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor) antagonist, is preparing for phase 1/2a clinical trials. In April, the company also presented preclinical results of its SHP1 (Src homology phosphatase-1) inhibitor DA-4511 at the American Association for Cancer Research Conference.
Dong-A ST also acquired AbTis, a company specializing in antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), last December. The company said AbTis plans to file an IND (Investigational New Drug) application for AT-211, a Claudin 18.2-targeting ADC candidate for gastric and pancreatic cancers, in the U.S. and Korea later this year.