Liga-Chem Licenses ADC Technology to Japan’s Ono Pharmaceutical in USD 700M Deal
Platform Technology Also Licensed Out
Liga-Chem Biosciences announced on the 10th that it had signed two licensing agreements with Ono Pharmaceutical, a leading pharmaceutical company in Japan.
The pipeline that Liga-Chem Biosciences transferred includes "LCB97," a solid tumor treatment candidate in the preclinical stage. This candidate was discovered using Liga-Chem’s proprietary Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) platform technology and has shown remarkable anticancer efficacy in preclinical trials.
Under the terms of the agreement, Ono Pharmaceutical has obtained exclusive global rights for the development and commercialization of LCB97 targeting solid tumors. Ono will provide up to USD 700 million (approximately KRW 943.5 billion) in upfront payments, research and development costs, and milestone payments based on sales. Additionally, royalties will be paid based on net sales following commercialization.
In addition to the LCB97 deal, the two companies also entered into a separate joint research and licensing agreement for Liga-Chem’s next-generation ADC platform, "ConjuAll." This agreement grants Ono Pharmaceutical exclusive global rights to use Liga-Chem’s platform technology to discover and develop ADC candidates. The payments for this platform technology licensing will be made separately from those related to the LCB97 deal.
Kim Yong-Joo, CEO of Liga-Chem Biosciences, commented, "We are delighted to collaborate with Ono Pharmaceutical, which has extensive experience and expertise in the oncology field. This package deal marks the beginning of our journey to grow into a leading ADC company through continued partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies."