Lotte Biologics inks agreement with Ottimo Pharma on antibody drug candidate

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Lotte Biologics inks agreement with Ottimo Pharma on antibody drug candidate

Published: 19 Jun. 2025, 10:33 Updated: 19 Jun. 2025, 20:16

LEE JAE-LIM
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

From right, Brett Budis, head of global PMO at Lotte Biologics; Shin Yoo-Yeol, head of global strategy; James Park, CEO of Lotte Biologics; and executives from Ottimo Pharma pose for a photo after a signing ceremony held at Lotte Biologics' booth for 2025 BIO International Convention in Boston on June 18. [LOTTE BIOLOGICS]

BOSTON — Lotte Biologics signed a contract manufacturing agreement with U.K.-based biotech company Ottimo Pharma for its production of a novel antibody drug candidate known as Jankistomig, the Korean firm said on Wednesday. The drugs will be produced at Lotte Biologic’s Syracuse plant in the United States.

The Korean contract manufacturer will be producing clinical trial materials and the candidate is targeting “a very hot area in bispecific antibodies,” according to Lotte Biologics CEO James Park at a lunch event with Korean media on Wednesday.

The candidate is a PD-1/VEGFR2 bispecific antibody, designed to target two key proteins involved in solid tumors. PD-1 is an immune checkpoint that cancer cells exploit to evade immune attacks, while VEGFR2 promotes the growth of blood vessels that supply nutrients to tumors, enabling their growth and spread.

The company is optimistic that, if the candidate succeeds in clinical trials, it could ramp up production for eventual commercialization.

The signing ceremony took place at Lotte Biologics’ booth at the 2025 BIO International Convention, currently underway at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Shin Yoo-yeol, executive vice president of Lotte Corporation and head of global strategy at Lotte Biologics, personally attended the ceremony, along with Park and Joseph Shultz, vice president of Ottimo Pharma.

Shin attended client meetings during the convention and the toured booths of global and domestic companies such as Swedish biopharma firm Cytiva, India’s Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and U.S.-based medical and research supplier Thermo Fisher, as well as Dong-A Socio Holdings, Celltrion and SK pharmteco.

It was Shin’s second time visiting the bio event after 2023.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]