Aptamer Sciences’ Trop2-ApDC Selected for National New Drug Development Project... Accelerates Global Technology Transfer

Aptamer Sciences is accelerating its global commercialization efforts by securing government support for the development of new drug candidates using its proprietary aptamer-based anticancer platform technology.

On June 18, Aptamer Sciences (CEO Jeong Jibhoon) announced that its ‘Trop2-ApDC Targeted Anticancer Drug’, which utilizes the company’s next-generation anticancer drug delivery platform (ApDC), has been selected as a research project for the National New Drug Development Project’s drug development infrastructure expansion.

With this selection, Aptamer Sciences will conduct optimization and non-clinical development studies for the Trop2-ApDC lead compound over the next two years with government support. The company aims to bolster its research capabilities to enter subsequent clinical development stages and to lay the groundwork for technology transfer to global pharmaceutical companies.

Trop2-ApDC is a targeted anticancer drug candidate that applies Aptamer Sciences’ core ApDC platform technology, selectively targeting the Trop2 protein, which is overexpressed in various solid tumors.

ApDC, a conjugate of aptamer and drug, is designed to selectively deliver drugs to cancer cells, thereby reducing effects on normal tissues and maximizing anticancer efficacy at tumor sites.

In particular, Aptamer Sciences explained that the ApDC platform can overcome the limitations of existing antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) in the treatment of solid tumors.

Aptamers are approximately one-tenth the size of antibodies, providing superior tumor tissue penetration. The company expects this characteristic will help overcome the limitations in intratumoral drug delivery efficiency that have been pointed out with conventional ADC therapies.

Currently, Aptamer Sciences has confirmed the superior tumor-suppressing efficacy of Trop2-ApDC in studies involving various tumor models.

Trop2 is a major target protein expressed in many solid tumors and is attracting significant interest from the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry as a next-generation anticancer therapy target. Aptamer Sciences plans to leverage this selection for the National New Drug Development Project to secure non-clinical data and expand global partnering opportunities.

An official from Aptamer Sciences stated, “This selection for the National New Drug Development Project demonstrates that the ApDC platform is recognized as an innovative technology capable of addressing the unmet needs of existing ADC therapies. Given the high interest among global big pharma in Trop2-targeted therapies, we will accelerate development to achieve early technology transfer results at the non-clinical stage, based on our platform’s competitiveness.”

Meanwhile, Aptamer Sciences is conducting Phase 1 clinical trials for its liver cancer drug candidate ‘AST-201’, and is focusing on expanding its pipeline and strengthening collaboration with global pharmaceutical companies based on its proprietary aptamer technology.

The National New Drug Development Project is a pan-government R&D initiative aimed at enhancing the global competitiveness of Korea’s pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Since 2021, it has supported research throughout the entire new drug development cycle over a ten-year period, with the goal of strengthening the domestic new drug development ecosystem and achieving global commercialization outcomes.

With the selection of this project, Aptamer Sciences plans to further enhance the technological competitiveness of its ApDC platform and strengthen its business foundation for entering the global anticancer drug market.

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