SK biopharmaceuticals said on Wednesday that it has signed a licensing agreement with Full-Life Technologies, a radiotherapeutics company, to acquire the global development and commercialization rights to FL-091, a novel radioligand vector candidate targeting neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1).

The technology will be applied across various therapeutic domains beyond the central nervous system, including radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) and targeted protein degradation (TPD). This alignment with the company's Financial Story—an outline of its mid-to-long-term growth strategy –aims to extend beyond the central nervous system into anti-cancer treatments and evolve into a major player in the biotechnology industry with innovative therapeutic modalities like RPT and TPD.

The agreement is valued at $571.5 million, including an upfront payment, development, and sales milestones. 

FL-091 is a radiopharmaceutical designed to deliver actinium-225 (Ac-225), a next-generation radioisotope capable of killing cancer cells by selectively binding to NTSR1, a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) that is overexpressed in a variety of solid tumors such as colorectal, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. 

FL-091 targets NTSR1, which is highly expressed in these cancers. SK biopharmaceuticals said this makes it a promising candidate for RPT development, as preclinical studies have demonstrated an excellent biodistribution profile and high binding affinity, resulting in potent anti-tumor activity

SK biopharmaceuticals has also secured the right of first negotiation to license other pre-selected radionuclide drug conjugate (RDC) programs of Full-Life Technologies. 

"Through this international licensing agreement with Full-Life Technologies, we are pleased to collaborate in the biotech sector, which has seen the most global investments, acquisitions, and partnerships in recent years," said Lee Dong-hoon, CEO of SK biopharmaceuticals and its U.S. subsidiaries SK Life Science and SK Life Science Labs. "This agreement is the most concrete achievement since we announced our entry into RPT last year.” 

Lee added that the company plans to unveil a more detailed business plan for the full value chain of the RPT business this year and accelerate clinical development and commercialization.