South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on Wednesday that AimedBio, which grew with the government's step-by-step support for new drug development, has established itself in the KOSDAQ market and become a successful case of commercialising public research results.

AimedBio developed next-generation targeted anti-cancer drugs using antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology. ADC is a next-generation cancer technology that combines an antibody that selectively binds to cancer cells with a potent cytotoxic drug. It is regarded as a technology that can improve safety while enhancing the efficacy of targeted treatment.

AimedBio recently signed a technology transfer contract worth about 1.4 trillion won with global drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim, based on its solid-tumour drug candidate "ODS02". It also gained recognition for its technical achievements and marketability through drug candidates including "AMB302", which applies a new mechanism of action, and recorded a market capitalisation of about 2.8 trillion won on the day it listed on KOSDAQ on Dec. 4 last year.

The ministry assessed AimedBio's growth as a representative example of outcomes achieved through government support. AimedBio carried out a total of 19 government projects, including the "public technology-based market-linked startup exploration support (TechSCORE)" programme and the "National New Drug Development Project".

AimedBio participated in the TechSCORE programme as a preliminary startup team in 2017 and went through a startup exploration process to verify the market value of its research results. From 2021, it gradually advanced key research and development, including non-clinical studies, through R&D support from the multi-ministry National New Drug Development Project.

Kim Sung-soo (김성수), director general for R&D Policy at the ministry, said, "AimedBio is an excellent example of public research results spreading beyond the laboratory into the market and industry," adding, "We will continue to strengthen support across the full cycle of new drug development and links to technology commercialisation."