Handok (Chairman & CEO Young-jin Kim, Vice President Jin-ki Paik) and CMG Pharmaceutical (CEO Joohyung Lee) have signed a technology transfer and strategic cooperation agreement for the pan-TRK inhibitor anticancer drug CHC2014 with Singapore’s AUM Biosciences on May 10.

With this agreement, Handok and CMG Pharmaceutical will transfer the rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize CHC2014 in countries outside South Korea to AUM Biosciences. The share of rights in this agreement is 50:50 for Handok and CMG Pharmaceutical. The two companies will each receive KRW 96.7 billion (USD 86.25 million) as a down payment as well as shares in consideration upon the completion of technology transfer and achievement of development and commercialization milestones, and they will additionally receive royalties for each phase.

Handok and CMG Pharmaceutical began joint research on CHC2014 in 2015, and from 2017 until recently, have accelerated its development based on an agreement signed with National OncoVenture (NOV) (supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and managed by the National Cancer Center). AUM Biosciences is a global clinical trial phase bio-technology company specializing in the development of anticancer treatment.

CHC2014 is a new anticancer drug called a pan-TRK inhibitor that selectively inhibits TRK proteins. Its Phase I clinical trial was carried out successfully in Korea, and final results are being drafted in a report. CHC2014 demonstrated superior antitumor activity to existing treatments with excellent efficacy against mutated tumors in previously conducted non-clinical studies, showing potential solutions in the TRK inhibition market.

CEO of AUM Biosciences Vishal Doshi said, “We would like to thank Handok, CMG Pharmaceutical, and OncoVenture for not only having jointly developed CHC2014 but also for deciding to collaborate with us in the development of the next phase. We have high expectations that the development of CHC2014 will have greater scientific and clinical competitiveness compared to other pan-TRK inhibitors.”