“What does this look like?” asked Y-Biologics CEO Young Woo Park, as he handed over his business card, while pointing at a small Y-shaped image. When I guessed that it was the initial of Y-Biologics, he explained that it was actually an antibody. Antibodies are glycoproteins that trigger an immune response against antigens of viruses, bacteria, and other microbes invading our body.

 

You have probably heard that some have “hepatitis B antibodies” or some people “developed antibodies after being vaccinated.” In the process of developing new drugs, antibodies are used to find and bind to certain targets such as tumors.

 

They are comparable to the sensors in a missile, for example. “Our body’s immune system and response are surprisingly well adapted,” CEO Park explained. He noted that “antibodies are the pinnacle of drugs, as they can’t get any more perfect than that. That is, there are no other candidates that can substitute antibodies.” Y-Biologics left the biopharmaceutical industry and venture capitalists (VCs) last year by proving its technological prowess by finding an antibody that has an effect equal to or greater than that of a global blockbuster immuno-oncology agent (PD-1 inhibitor) within just six months. The news caused a huge sensation. The company received KRW 15 billion in investment last year alone and endless collaboration requests from pharmaceutical and bio companies. It was chosen by the Government-wide New Drug Development Project Group for research funding at the end of last year, and last month, the company announced that it would carry out a joint R&D project with Crystal Genomics. In just one year after proving its technological power, Y-Biologics has signed partnership agreements with six pharmaceutical and bio companies, including CJ Healthcare, Green Cross Institute for Biomedical Research, Ahn-gook Pharm, and Lego Chem Biosciences.

 

“There are cases where the right antibody cannot be found even after two years. Even if it is found, there is a need to ‘optimize’ it. We, on the other hand, found an optimized antibody at once. This was possible because we had built an ‘antibody library’ of over 100 billion antibodies and automated many parts of the related processes that were performed manually,” said CEO Park.

 

Y-Biologics is equipped with Korea’s one and only automated human antibody screening equipment and technology. The automated system has cut the antibody screening time from 4 to 6 months to just 2 weeks. CEO Park said, “I am confident that our library of 100 billion antibodies is comparable to the antibody libraries of dozens of global competitors,” and introduced the company’s business model, which is to “collaborate with domestic and overseas pharmaceutical and bio companies based on [its] platform technology and dedicate [itself] to discovering new immune checkpoint inhibitors and developing new antibody drugs independently.”

 

Another reason Y-Biologics is garnering attention is the fact that domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies are joining the race to develop immuno-oncology drugs. Evaluate Pharma, which analyzes the pharmaceutical industry, predicted that immuno-oncology drugs, Opdivo and Keytruda, would rank first and ninth in terms of global pharmaceutical sales in 2022. Immuno-oncology drugs are therapeutics aimed at enhancing the immune systems of cancer patients to better fight cancer cells.

 

Chemotherapy agents are “first-generation anticancer agents” that are toxic and destroy even normal cells, while targeted therapy agents are “second-generation anticancer agents” that target only tumors but eventually lead to tolerance. Immuno-oncology drugs are called “third-generation anticancer agents” that are applicable to various cancers and cause few side effects.

 

“The market for antibody therapeutics, including immuno-oncology and autoimmune disease drugs, which we are jointly developing with our partners, will grow inevitably, as population aging occurs at an accelerated rate. Imaging just having to receive an injection every six months, instead of taking medication every single day. It’s possible to receive treatment, without any disruptions in your day-to-day life, and as with the case of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, the elderly can receive this type of anticancer treatment. By administering two drugs concomitantly, a synergistic effect can be achieved, and new substances can be added to address any drawbacks. This is why many bio and pharmaceutical companies are showing interest in our company.”

 

CEO Park is an expert in antibody drugs who has been researching antibodies for 20 years at LG Life Sciences and for nearly 10 years at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology. Since 2015, he has been serving as the CEO of Y-Biologics.

 

 

“I was an ‘explorer’ who went all-in to discover the optimal antibodies in the preclinical phase for the past 30 years, and now I am now on a path to the clinical phase, which I have never been on,” said CEO Park who then added that it is his “dream to develop a new drug until the end by recruiting experts on clinical research to form a ‘dream team.’”

 

“The goal is to complete the Phase 1 clinical trial in 2019 for treatment of rare cancers, for which the Phase 3 clinical trial requirement is waived. If everything goes according to plan, we will be able to finish the clinical trial in 2023, or 2024, or perhaps even before then. We will also continue our research on ‘Better PD-1’ to improve the performance of our existing drug and bispecific antibodies that bind to two targets. We have no bottlenecks in creating new pipelines, so we will be able to create a business model according to our funding.”

 

[By Chan Ok Shin]