[Exclusive] AimedBio Invests in Galaxy... Joint Development of Antibodies for Brain Diseases

Joint Development of Antibody Drugs Targeting Blood-Brain Barrier Penetration

AimedBio, a company specializing in the development of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapeutics, has invested 2 billion won in Galaxy, an artificial intelligence (AI) protein design specialist, and will jointly develop brain-blood barrier (BBB)-penetrating antibody drugs. Industry analysts note that the recent trend of global pharmaceutical giants such as AstraZeneca, Merck, and Eli Lilly partnering with AI antibody design companies is now emerging in Korea’s ADC sector as capital alliances.

According to industry sources on May 28, Galaxy recently held a board meeting and resolved to allocate new shares to AimedBio through a third-party paid-in capital increase. A total of 3,094 common shares will be issued at a price of 646,453 won per share, with the total issuance amounting to 2,001,250,000 won. Payment was completed on the 27th.

The two companies will collaborate on the joint research of therapeutics for brain diseases. Galaxy will design proteins with BBB-penetrating profiles from scratch using its proprietary AI-based antibody design platform, while AimedBio will handle subsequent validation and antibody development stages. The BBB is a biological barrier that prevents substances in the bloodstream from entering the brain and is regarded as the greatest challenge in developing new drugs for brain diseases.

This investment marks Galaxy’s first strategic biotech investor (SI). Previously, in 2022, Galaxy raised 2 billion won from LG Holdings and has since continued joint research with LG Chem. All other funding rounds have primarily involved financial investors (FI). A representative from Galaxy stated, “The aim is not to end with a single joint research project but to build a long-term partnership that can expand new drug development into various diseases and modalities.”

Galaxy is an AI drug development company that began with protein structure prediction and has expanded into de novo antibody design. It has signed joint research agreements with Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltrion, LG Chem, and Hanall Biopharma. AimedBio, a spin-off from Samsung Medical Center specializing in ADCs, out-licensed an ADC candidate to Boehringer Ingelheim last year in a deal valued at over 1 trillion won.

This transaction is notable as it marks the beginning of capital alliances between Korean ADC companies and AI antibody design firms. ADCs are composed of an antibody that targets antigens, a cytotoxic payload, and a linker connecting the two. For some time, the market has focused on differentiation in linkers and payloads. Likewise, external collaborations in the Korean ADC sector have mainly centered around linker and payload areas, as seen in partnerships like Celltrion-Finobio, Dong-A ST-Aptis, and Samsung Bioepis-IntoCell.

This trend has shifted as the precision of the antibody itself has emerged as the key factor determining the efficacy and safety of ADCs. Recent studies show that even when targeting the same HER2 antigen, clinical results vary depending on the antibody’s binding affinity, epitope location, and tumor selectivity. This is why global pharmaceutical companies are turning to AI-based antibody design specialists.

Major pharmaceutical companies have been quick to partner with AI antibody design firms. In 2022, Merck entered a joint research agreement for antibodies and enzymes with Absci, an AI protein design company, for up to $610 million (about 915 billion won). AstraZeneca joined the same company in December 2023 for a cancer antibody co-development deal worth up to $247 million (about 370.5 billion won), while Boehringer Ingelheim teamed up with IBM in November of the same year to build an AI foundation model for antibody therapeutics.

Novartis signed a protein drug collaboration with Generate Biomedicines in 2024, worth up to $1 billion (about 1.5 trillion won), and Eli Lilly expanded its collaboration with Insilico Medicine in March this year to a maximum of $2.75 billion (about 4.125 trillion won).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.