AffyXell Therapeutics, an affiliate of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, said Tuesday that it has signed a joint research, development and licensing agreement with ProAbTech to develop next-generation protein degrader therapeutics targeting autoimmune diseases.
Under the agreement, the two companies will combine their proprietary technologies to develop drug candidates based on LYTAC (Lysosome Targeting Chimera) technology. AffyXell Therapeutics will provide its “eTPD” design platform, which selectively targets disease-related proteins, while ProAbTech will apply its proprietary “SelecAll” platform to precisely conjugate drugs and functional molecules to proteins.
AffyXell’s eTPD (extracellular Targeted Protein Degradation) technology is designed to selectively target and eliminate disease-related proteins located outside cells. ProAbTech’s SelecAll platform, based on non-natural amino acid insertion technology, enables the precise insertion of artificial amino acids into specific sites on proteins, allowing drugs or functional materials to be attached exactly where intended.
The companies expect that combining these technologies will enable the sophisticated design of LYTAC candidates with improved stability and therapeutic efficacy.
According to market research firm Grand View Research, the global targeted protein degradation (TPD) market is projected to reach about 5 trillion won ($3.3 billion) by 2033. Competition among major pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, Eli Lilly and Company and Merck & Co., to secure next-generation TPD platforms has recently intensified, driving a wave of large-scale collaboration and licensing deals across the industry.
LYTAC technology, which the two companies aim to develop into new therapeutic candidates, is attracting attention as a next-generation TPD approach. While conventional protein degradation technologies mainly target intracellular proteins, LYTAC can selectively eliminate disease-related proteins located outside cells or on cell membranes.
The companies believe this approach could expand treatment possibilities for difficult-to-treat diseases, including solid tumors and autoimmune disorders, which have been challenging to address with existing therapies.
Through the partnership, AffyXell Therapeutics plans to expand its research and development capabilities beyond cell and gene therapies into antibody-based next-generation therapeutics. ProAbTech also expects to broaden the application of its protein conjugation platform by integrating it into actual drug development pipelines.
The two companies said they aim to secure a technological edge in the next-generation antibody therapeutics market through continued collaboration.
“ProAbTech’s advanced platform technology is a key element that can significantly enhance the completeness of AffyXell’s next-generation protein degrader development efforts,” said Park Seong-soo, CEO of AffyXell Therapeutics. “By combining the strengths of both companies, we will rapidly secure innovative drug candidates that can overcome the limitations of existing therapies.”
Cho Jeong-haeng, CEO of ProAbTech, said, “ProAbTech has been conducting LYTAC research targeting specific proteins based on the SelecAll platform. Through this collaboration, we expect to fully apply our platform technology to next-generation protein degrader therapeutics and build globally competitive drug pipelines together.”
AffyXell Therapeutics is a biotechnology company jointly established by Daewoong Pharmaceutical and Avacta. The company develops next-generation cell and gene therapies by combining mesenchymal stem cell technologies with antibody-mimetic Affimer technologies. More recently, it has expanded its research into antibody-based therapeutics and protein degradation technologies.
ProAbTech is a biotech venture company specializing in the SelecAll platform, a site-specific protein-conjugation technology that uses non-natural amino acids. The platform enables precise attachment of drugs or functional molecules to designated protein sites, allowing the production of highly homogeneous therapeutics with improved conjugation efficiency, efficacy and stability compared with conventional conjugation methods. The company is also expanding its research into next-generation antibody-based cancer therapies and protein degrader drug development.
Kim Ji-hye
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