IntoCell Enters into Development and License Option Agreement with ADC Therapeutics

DAEJEON, South Korea, Jan. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IntoCell today announced the signing of a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) with option to license with ADC Therapeutics SA (NYSE: ADCT).

Under the agreement, IntoCell, a South Korean biotech developing novel antibody drug conjugate (ADC) platform technologies, will provide proprietary drug-linkers developed using their proprietary Ortho-Hydroxy Protected Aryl Sulfate (OHPAS^TM) system and payload modification technology (PMT). ADC Therapeutics, a commercial-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation ADCs, will conjugate its antibodies to IntoCell's drug-linker and perform in vitro, in vivo, and toxicology experiments.

Upon successful completion of the evaluation, ADC Therapeutics will have an option to license the technology to develop ADCs for up to six targets for global development and commercialization. IntoCell reserves all global rights for its platform technologies beyond ADC development for targets reserved by ADC Therapeutics and will receive a fee upon signing of the MTA. For each target option exercised by ADCT, IntoCell is also entitled to receive a target selection fee, potential development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties in the future upon successful achievement of each applicable milestone.

"We are pleased to be collaborating with ADC Therapeutics, one of the leading companies in the ADC area. We hope to leverage ADC Therapeutics' experience with the development and commercialization of its own ADC ZYNLONTA®," said Tae Kyo Park, Founder and CEO of IntoCell. "IntoCell's linker is highly stable and soluble, and our modified payload has the potential to substantially improve the therapeutic window of various payload classes. We are excited to see how our drug-linker technologies will perform with ADC Therapeutics' antibodies."

"IntoCell's innovative platform technologies have the potential to be valuable additions to ADC Therapeutics' toolbox as we continue to maximize our ADC platform," said Patrick van Berkel, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of ADC Therapeutics. "We look forward to evaluating our antibodies with IntoCell's drug-linker technologies in the pursuit of developing differentiated ADCs."

IntoCell was advised by PharmaVentures Ltd., a UK-based premier transaction advisory firm, for this collaboration and the ongoing partnering efforts for IntoCell's platform technologies and their lead programme, B7-H3 ADC.

For further information, please contact:

Sung-Ju Moon, Ph.D.
CSO/ Senior VP
IntoCell Inc.
smoon@intocell.co.kr
+82-42-716-0152

About IntoCell, the OHPAS linker and PMT technology

IntoCell has developed a state-of-the-art linker technology comprising of a novel self-immolative group based on Ortho-Hydroxy Protected Aryl Sulfate (OHPAS) chemistry that works with a wide variety of phenolic and non-phenolic payloads. The OHPAS linker was designed to accommodate a wide variety of functional groups and triggering groups. The OHPAS Linker can be triggered by methods that include enzymes (i.e., lysosomal), light, and pH. The resulting ADCs have shown high stability, solubility, and very fast payload release profiles. IntoCell has also devised another ADC platform technology called Payload Modification Technology (PMT) in which temporary modifying groups have been incorporated into traditional payloads. PMT has improved therapeutic index of ADCs with significant reduction of normal cell's uptake, resulting in normal cells being minimally affected. By utilising PMT and OHPAS linker technologies, IntoCell has successfully delivered a preclinical candidate in the B7-H3 ADC program. ITC-6146RO is the lead candidate that shows strong and long-lived potency in a variety of murine xenograft and PDX models with excellent safety.

For more information, please visit http://www.intocell.co.kr/

About ADC Therapeutics

ADC Therapeutics (NYSE: ADCT) is a commercial-stage biotechnology company improving the lives of those affected by cancer with its next-generation, targeted antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). The Company is advancing its proprietary PBD-based ADC technology to transform the treatment paradigm for patients with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.

ADC Therapeutics' CD19-directed ADC ZYNLONTA (loncastuximab tesirine-lpyl) is approved by the FDA for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy. ZYNLONTA is also in development in combination with other agents. In addition to ZYNLONTA, ADC Therapeutics has multiple ADCs in ongoing clinical and preclinical development.

ADC Therapeutics is based in Lausanne (Biopôle), Switzerland and has operations in London, the San Francisco Bay Area and New Jersey. For more information, please visit https://adctherapeutics.com/ and follow the Company on Twitter and LinkedIn.

ZYNLONTA® is a registered trademark of ADC Therapeutics SA.

ADC Therapeutics Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those described. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: the successful outcome of the evaluation of IntoCell's OHPAS linker and PMT technology with ADCT's antibodies and future exercise of the development and commercialization option by ADCT, market acceptance, adequate reimbursement coverage, and commercial success of ZYNLONTA® in the United States and future revenue from the same; our strategic partners', including Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi®), Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation and Overland Pharmaceuticals, ability to obtain regulatory approval for ZYNLONTA® in foreign jurisdictions, the market acceptance and commercial success of ZYNLONTA® in such jurisdictions and the timing and amount of payments to us from such partnerships; the Company's ability to market its products in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; the timing and results of the Company's or its partners' research projects or clinical trials including LOTIS 2, 5 and 9, ADCT 901, 601 and 212, the timing and outcome of regulatory submissions and actions by the FDA or other regulatory agencies with respect to the Company's products or product candidates; projected revenue and expenses, the Company's indebtedness including HCR and Oak Tree facilities and the restrictions imposed on the Company's activities by such indebtedness, the ability to repay such indebtedness and the significant cash required to service such indebtedness; the Company's ability to obtain financial and other resources for its research, development, clinical, and commercial activities and other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, and involve predictions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, achievements or prospects to be materially different from any future results, performance, achievements or prospects expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as ''may'', ''will'', ''should'', ''would'', ''expect'', ''intend'', ''plan'', ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''estimate'', ''predict'', ''potential'', ''seem'', ''seek'', ''future'', ''continue'', or ''appear'' or the negative of these terms or similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements is contained in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F and in the Company's other periodic reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company on the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release, except as required by law.

About PharmaVentures

PharmaVentures is a premier transaction advisory firm and a leading international company in partnering, M&A deals and strategic alliances. For over 30 years, PharmaVentures has acted as advisor on over 1,000 deal related projects covering licensing, mergers, acquisitions, divestments, and joint venture activities for companies worldwide. We are regulated through PharmaVentures Capital Ltd.

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