Platform Technology Leader
ALTEOGEN Inc.
ALTEOGEN is a bio venture company that conducts research and develops biobetters using its proprietary platform technology. Through the HybrozymeTM technology, which converts an intravenous formulation, the typical drug delivery method for bio-antibody drugs, into a subcutaneous formulation, we achieved a total of KRW 6,400 billion in technology transfer to multinational pharmaceutical companies between 2019 and 2021. One of them is currently conducting phase-1 clinical trials for a mixed formulation by combining it with approved pharmaceuticals. In addition, we are developing long-acting human growth hormone products fused with human growth hormone (hGH) using our company's proprietary long-acting technology, NexPTM, and we are preparing for a phase-2 clinical trial on a global scale. Based on NexMabTM, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform technology, we are researching and developing antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) anticancer drugs of the next generation. Since its founding in 2008, the company has been listed on the KOSDAQ as a special technology growth company since December 2014, and has been consolidating its position as the leading domestic bio company that has signed more than ten joint R&D contracts with foreign pharmaceutical companies.
HybrozymeTM Platform Technology
HybrozymeTM is a technology that drastically alters the drug delivery method, allowing the drug to be absorbed through the subcutaneous capillaries rather than the direct intravenous administration method when hyaluronidase (“ALT-B4”), an enzyme that breaks down hyaluronic acid, which forms the subcutaneous intercellular skeleton, is mixed with a drug and administered. This technology can convert intravenous administration to subcutaneous administration, with a particular focus on anticancer drugs and other biopharmaceuticals. Our company is the second in the world to develop this technology, following the company Halozyme in the United States. By developing a subcutaneous injection, the drug administration time is dramatically shortened, thereby reducing the inconvenience caused to patients by the previous 2-3-hour drug administration time using the intravenous (IV) method, and by reducing the cost of hospitalization, both patients and caregivers benefit. Currently, the multinational pharmaceutical companies to which we have transferred our technology are either in the final stages of phase-1 clinical trials or are preparing to enter phase-1 clinical trials.
Long-Acting Platform Technology, NexPTM
Compared to biosimilars, biobetters are classified as new drugs due to their improved efficacy, safety, and convenience. They are derived from original drugs with enhanced efficacy, safety, and convenience. Biobetters improve the properties of drugs, such as selectivity, stability, immunogenicity, and half-life, compared to the original pharmaceuticals, and are protected by our own patent, thereby eliminating the risk of patent cliff due to patent expiration. The company is developing a long-acting human growth hormone by fusing hGH with NexPTM, which was developed as a carrier that increased durability in the body by substituting certain amino acids in Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (A1AT), a protein abundant in the human body, and eliminating its own functions. This can reduce the number of daily injections of human growth hormone, thereby alleviating the discomfort patients experience when repeatedly receiving the drug. “ALT-P1,” a human growth hormone with increased durability in combination with the company's NextPTM, has completed global clinical 1b with an international partner to whom we have transferred our technology for pediatric short stature (PGHD) indications, and it is scheduled to enter global phase-2 clinical trials this year.
Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) Platform Technology, NexMabTM ADC
NextMabTM ADC is a technology for selectively conjugating drugs to specific antibody sites. It is a platform technology used in the development of anticancer drugs that involves attaching a toxic drug to an antibody that necrosises cells by separating toxic drugs upon reaching specific cells. Using NexMabTM ADC technology, the company is currently developing a treatment that combines a breast cancer-targeting antibody with an anticancer drug, and has completed phase-1 clinical trials in Korea for the first time.
Development of Eylea biosimilar for wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) treatment
Biosimilars are also known as follow-on biologics. As copy of the original drug whose patent has expired, it possesses the same components and quality and has demonstrated clinical comparability with the original drug. In 2021, sales of the biopharmaceutical 'Eylea,' a treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration co-developed by Regeneron and Bayer of the United States, are anticipated to reach approximately KRW 10 trillion. As the Eylea patent expired in Europe in the second half of 2025, the company completed the development of a biosimilar equivalent. It was the first in the world to complete phase-1 clinical trials in four domestic hospitals, and phase-3 clinical trials are currently being conducted in 12 countries, including Korea and Japan.
ALTEOGEN, which is pioneering the development of biobetters to improve the quality of human life, is anticipated to grow and perform well in the future.
[References]
- Eom Min-yong, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities, ‘We must abandon the pipeline-centric perspective’.
- Materials provided by ALTEOGEN Co., Ltd.