AimedBio Invests $1.5 Million in Galaxy for AI-Designed Brain-Penetrating Antibody Development
Key Insights
AimedBio (search) invested 2 billion won ($1.5 million) in Galaxy (search), an AI protein design company, to jointly develop brain-blood barrier-penetrating antibody drugs for brain diseases.
Galaxy (search) will use its proprietary AI platform to design BBB-penetrating proteins from scratch, while AimedBio (search) will handle validation and antibody development stages.
This marks the first strategic biotech investment for Galaxy (search) and represents the emerging trend of Korean ADC companies partnering with AI antibody design firms.
AimedBio (search), a South Korean antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapeutics company, has invested 2 billion won ($1.5 million) in Galaxy (search), an artificial intelligence protein design specialist, to jointly develop brain-blood barrier (BBB)-penetrating antibody drugs for brain diseases. The strategic partnership represents the first capital alliance between Korean ADC companies and AI antibody design firms, mirroring a global trend among pharmaceutical giants.
Strategic Investment Details
According to industry sources, Galaxy (search) held a board meeting and resolved to allocate new shares to AimedBio (search) through a third-party paid-in capital increase. The company issued 3,094 common shares at 646,453 won per share, with payment completed on May 27. This investment marks Galaxy's first strategic biotech investor, following a 2 billion won funding round from LG Holdings in 2022.
Collaborative Research Framework
The partnership will focus on developing therapeutics for brain diseases, with Galaxy (search) designing proteins with BBB-penetrating profiles using its proprietary AI-based antibody design platform. AimedBio (search) will handle subsequent validation and antibody development stages. The blood-brain barrier, which prevents substances in the bloodstream from entering the brain, is regarded as the greatest challenge in developing new drugs for brain diseases.
A Galaxy (search) representative stated, "The aim is not to end with a single joint research project but to build a long-term partnership that can expand new drug development into various diseases and modalities."
Company Backgrounds
Galaxy (search) is an AI drug development company that began with protein structure prediction and has expanded into de novo antibody design. The company has established joint research agreements with major pharmaceutical companies including Boehringer Ingelberg (search), Celltrion, LG Chem (search), and Hanall Biopharma.
AimedBio (search), a spin-off from Samsung Medical Center specializing in ADCs, achieved a significant milestone last year by out-licensing an ADC candidate to Boehringer Ingelberg (search) in a deal valued at over 1 trillion won.
Industry Shift Toward AI-Designed Antibodies
The transaction reflects a broader industry evolution in ADC development. While the market has traditionally focused on differentiation in linkers and payloads, recent studies demonstrate that antibody precision has emerged as the key factor determining ADC efficacy and safety. Research shows that even when targeting the same HER2 (search) antigen, clinical results vary depending on the antibody's binding affinity, epitope location, and tumor selectivity.
External collaborations in the Korean ADC sector have historically centered around linker and payload areas, as seen in partnerships like Celltrion-Finobio, Dong-A ST-Aptis, and Samsung Bioepis-IntoCell. This new alliance represents a strategic shift toward antibody optimization.
Global Pharmaceutical Partnerships
Major pharmaceutical companies have been actively partnering with AI antibody design firms. Merck (search) entered a joint research agreement with Absci, an AI protein design company, for up to $610 million in 2022. AstraZeneca joined the same company in December 2023 for a cancer antibody co-development deal worth up to $247 million, while Boehringer Ingelberg (search) partnered with IBM in November 2023 to build an AI foundation model for antibody therapeutics.
Novartis signed a protein drug collaboration with Generate Biomedicines in 2024 worth up to $1 billion, and Eli Lilly expanded its collaboration with Insilico Medicine in March this year to a maximum of $2.75 billion, demonstrating the significant investment global pharmaceutical companies are making in AI-driven antibody design.