AbClon announced on the 14th that it has secured preclinical-stage technology for CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell) therapy targeting solid tumors, in addition to its efforts in blood cancer. This endeavor aims to provide a treatment for solid tumor patients who have suffered the limits of existing anticancer treatments with AbClon's next-generation CAR-T therapy.

AbClon is currently conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial in South Korea for its first CAR-T therapy, AT101, targeting hematologic malignancies. The company recently completed a technology transfer to Turkey and plans to expand its indications to the solid tumor field based on the success of its blood cancer treatment.

As part of this strategy, the company is co-developing a Claudin18.2-targeting CAR-T therapy with Professor Chung Joon-ho's research team at Seoul National University College of Medicine. This CAR-T targets a protein highly expressed in refractory solid tumors such as gastric and pancreatic cancers. The currently available treatments in this area have low response rates and significant drug resistance issues, leading to high unmet medical needs.

Professor Chung's research team developed antibodies specific to Claudin18.2 based on VHH (single-domain antibody) and scFv (single-chain antibody) obtained from specialized animal immunization and antibody gene technology. AbClon explained that it has confirmed the preclinical potential of the CAR-T therapy for solid tumors using these antibodies.

The company is also developing AT501, a next-generation switchable CAR-T therapy targeting HER2. AT501 is a platform that allows precise control of CAR-T cell activation when administered with a specific switch protein. This switch technology, which selectively targets HER2, has demonstrated excellent anticancer efficacy in animal models and has the advantage of enhancing anticancer effects with switch re-administration even in responsive/relapsed models. The company stated that this technology has drawn significant interest from overseas companies and research institutes.

In addition, AbClon is developing a CAR-T therapy targeting CD30 for patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma. This is being done in collaboration with Dr. Marco Ruella's research team at the University of Pennsylvania (UPENN) School of Medicine and is expected to provide a new option for patients who do not respond to existing treatments. In particular, this therapy is being developed as a next-generation CAR-T therapy to overcome the tumor microenvironment (TME) by utilizing BTLA (B and T Lymphocyte Attenuator) gene editing technology.

An AbClon official stated, "We plan to continuously expand the indications for refractory solid tumors by integrating our antibody platform technology and cell therapy development capabilities." They added, "We will continue to pursue a differentiated new drug development strategy in the global anticancer market and become a leading company in the next-generation immuno-oncology field." End.