ABL Bio Inc. (298380.KQ), a South Korean biotechnology company, on Friday said it has secured a total of $55 million in research and development funding from Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY).
The funding includes a $40 million upfront payment under a license, research and collaboration agreement for its Grabody platform.
The deal also includes a $15 million equity investment from Lilly.
The funding will be used to accelerate research and development of the company's core technologies, including expanding indications for the Grabody platform and advancing bispecific, dual-payload, and next-generation antibody-drug conjugate programs.
Both companies are conducting joint research and development on multiple therapeutic candidates leveraging the Grabody platform across various modalities.
The company plans to expand Grabody into high-unmet-need areas such as obesity and muscle disorders and to extend clinical development of bispecific immuno-oncology candidates into combination therapies.
In November, the company signed a license, research, and collaboration agreement for the Grabody platform with Lilly, valued at up to $2.602 billion, including the $40 million upfront payment, alongside the $15 million equity investment agreement.
ABL Bio is currently trading 5.76% higher at KRW198,400 on the Kosdaq Stock Exchange.
On Wednesday, Eli Lilly and Co had closed at $1,076.98, 5.34 cents higher on the New York Stock Exchange. In the after-market hours, the stock traded 2.42 cents higher before ending the trade at $1,079.39.
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