AbbVie deepens oncology partnership with Asan Medical Center

AbbVie Korea announced Monday that its Oncology Early Development (OED) team is intensifying collaboration with cancer specialists at Asan Medical Center (AMC) to advance novel anticancer drugs.

Last Friday, the AbbVie OED team visited AMC and held in-depth discussions with Professors Ryu Min-hee and Yoon Dok-hyun of the Department of Medical Oncology regarding P1PER (Phase 1 Partnerships for Excellence in Research), a global network for early-stage cancer drug clinical trials.

P1PER is a global clinical trial network established under the leadership of AbbVie headquarters. Its aim is the early development of new drugs for refractory blood cancers -- such as leukemia and lymphoma that do not respond to standard treatments -- and for solid tumors, which are abnormal growths of tissue that can form in organs such as the liver, breast, or lungs. The network accelerates innovation in cancer research and leads the way in developing new therapies and addressing unmet medical needs through scientific collaboration among its affiliated experts.

As a result of these discussions, both organizations agreed to further strengthen their clinical partnership for early-stage drug development targeting solid tumors and hematologic cancers. This partnership merges AbbVie’s pioneering anticancer drug portfolio with Asan Medical Center’s strong clinical expertise.

Professor Ryu stated that collaboration with AbbVie through the global P1PER network is helping accelerate innovative cancer drug research and expand treatment options for patients with solid tumors.

Professor Yoon emphasized the goal of helping patients with blood cancers who have limited treatment options gain quicker access to new drugs through collaboration with AbbVie, which has extensive experience in the field.

Eleni Lagkadinou, vice president of AbbVie’s OED team, remarked, “Korea is a country with globally outstanding clinical research capabilities and medical infrastructure, occupying a very important position in AbbVie’s global oncology research.”

She continued, “As a core partner in the P1PER network, Asan Medical Center demonstrates exceptional expertise, particularly in refractory cancer research. Strengthening our close partnership will further accelerate the development of innovative therapies that can transform the lives of patients where unmet needs are high.”

AbbVie Korea stated that following this visit, it aims to continue advancing cancer research innovation by collaborating with Korean scientists and accelerating the delivery of effective and safe treatments to patients worldwide.