Dong-A, Ildong join hands…R&D synergy and resources

secured

Dong-A ST made a KRW 25 billion investment into Ildong’s subsidiary Idience…now the second-largest shareholder

Dong-A ST and Idience co-develop novel anticancer drug, Venadaparib

R&D collaboration after co-marketing Motilitone…Idience set to secure a KRW 90 billion financial resource

Dong-A ST and Idience sign a strategic equity investment and joint development agreement.

 

Officials, (from left) Ildong Pharmaceutical President Lee Chae-joon, Idience CEO Lee Won-sik, Dong-A ST R&D President Park Jae-hong, and Dong-A ST President Kim Min-youn, taking photos.

 

Dong-A ST and Idience join hands to develop novel anticancer drugs.

 

Dong-A ST invested KRW 25 billion in Ildong’s subsidiary, Idience, and will co-develop novel anticancer drugs.

 

Consequently, Dong-A ST has secured a pipeline of potential novel anticancer drugs, and Idience successfully contracted investment for its novel drug development.

 

Dong-A ST invested KRW 25 billion in Idience…strengthens its novel oncology pipeline According to industry sources on the 20th, Dong-A ST signed a strategic equity investment and joint development agreement with Idience, Ildong’s company specializing in new drug development.

 

Idience is delivering a third-party allocation capital increase of KRW 25 billion by issuing 19,142,420 new shares to Dong-A ST.

 

Prior to the capital increase, Idience had 11,492,538 common shares and 10,985,074 preferred shares outstanding.

 

Dong-A ST is expected to become Idience's second-largest shareholder after the capital increase.

 

Founded in May 2019 as a subsidiary of Ildong Holdings, Ildong Pharmaceutical's holding company, Idience is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in new drug development.

 

Idience is a development-centric (NRDO, No Research Development Only) biotech venture, focusing solely on drug development rather than direct drug discovery.

 

Idience is under development of ‘Venadaparib.‘ Venadaparib is a novel targeted anticancer candidate with a mechanism focused on selective inhibition of Poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP), which is involved in cancer generation.

 

Ildong Pharmaceutical developed Venadaparib as an in-house product and then transferred the rights to Idience.

 

It is under development as an oral, targeted anticancer therapy for the treatment of gastric cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer.

 

The analysis indicates that Dong-A ST has strengthened the competitiveness of its oncology pipeline through this investment, obtaining rights for the use of Venadaparib in combination therapies.

 

Dong-A ST continues to build its oncology pipeline by making R&D investments.

 

In November last year, immunotherapy DA-4505 was approved for phase 1/2a trials in South Korea.

 

Furthermore, the company presented preclinical results of SHP1(Src homology phosphatase-1) inhibitor ‘DA-4511’ at the AACR annual meeting 2024, held in April, and proved the candidate product’s potential for immunotherapy for cancer.

 

In December, Dong-A ST invested KRW 31.4 billion in acquiring AbTis, a company specializing in antibody-drug conjugates (ADC).

 

AbTis developed a third-generation ADC linker technology called ‘AbClick,‘ which site-selectively conjugates drugs to antibodies without antibody modification.

 

In the second half of the year, AbTis plans to file an IND for AT-211, a Claudin 18.2 ADC candidate for gastric cancer and pancreatic cancer, in the U.S.

 

and Korea.

 

”We plan to seek various measures to expand in a global market through this strategic collaboration.

 

We will develop innovative novel anticancer drugs by joining Dong-A ST and Idience technology and products,” Dong-A ST President Kim Min-young said.

 

Idience, secures financial resources for novel drug development…secured KRW 90 billion since its inception Idience has secured an additional financial resource for its novel drug development through Dong-A ST’s investment.

 

Since its inception, Idience has received a total of KRW 65 billion in investment.

 

When Idience was established, Ildong Holdings initially invested KRW 500 million and later added another KRW 4.5 billion.

 

In 2021, Idience successfully secured an investment of KRW 40 billion.

 

It also received a total investment of KRW 40 billion from various firms, including Yuanta Investment, TS Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, and Seoul Investment Partners.

 

In 2022, Idience raised additional investment through a third-party allocation capital increase of KRW 15 billion from Ildong Holdings and others.

 

With the completion of Dong-A ST's capital increase, Idience is set to secure a total of KRW 90 billion in investment capital since its inception.

 

Dong-A ST's cash and cash equivalents in the first quarter amounted to KRW 267.3 billion.

 

With this ample funding, Dong-A ST aims to secure a new drug pipeline while Idience secures funding for drug development.

 

Idience is currently working on the commercialization of Venadaparib, including clinical development for targeting various cancer types, such as gastric cancer, breast cancer, and PARP inhibitor-resistant cancer.

 

In gastric cancer, Venadaparib received orphan drug designation from the U.S.

 

FDA in 2022 and is currently undergoing clinical trials.

 

Earlier this year, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, interim results from Phase 1 clinical trials were presented.

 

These results demonstrated a broad range of applications and superior therapeutic effects compared to standard treatments, showcasing Venadaparib's competitive edge.

 

In addition to their previous relationship in the Korean market, Dong-A ST and Ildong Pharmaceutical also built a collaborative partnership for developing novel drugs.

 

Dong-A ST and Ildong Pharmaceutical are co-marketing a natural medicine Motilitone since 2019.

 

Motilitone is a product utilizing natural substances extracted from the seeds of the morning glory flower and the stems of the fucus brown algae.

 

Since 2019, Dong-A ST has been selling the antiulcer drug Gaster, produced by Ildong Pharmaceutical.

 

Gaster is indicated for various conditions, such as gastric and duodenal ulcers, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, reflux esophagitis, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, acute gastritis, and improvement of gastric mucosal lesions due to acute exacerbation of chronic gastritis.

 

“It is significant to have partnered with Dong-A ST and successfully received investment.

 

Idience’s R&D capacity and pipeline values are recognized through this deal,” Idience CEO Lee Won-sik said.