Aptamer Sciences' Trop2-ApDC Selected for South Korea's National New Drug Development Project
核心洞察
Aptamer Sciences (搜索)' Trop2-ApDC (搜索), a next-generation aptamer-drug conjugate targeting Trop2 (搜索), has been selected for South Korea's National New Drug Development Project with two years of government support.
The ApDC platform uses aptamers roughly one-tenth the size of antibodies, offering superior tumor tissue penetration and potentially overcoming limitations of existing antibody-drug conjugates in solid tumors (搜索).
The company has confirmed superior tumor-suppressing efficacy of Trop2-ApDC (搜索) across various tumor models and aims to secure non-clinical data to attract global pharmaceutical partners.
Aptamer Sciences (搜索) announced on June 18 that its Trop2-ApDC (搜索) targeted anticancer drug candidate has been selected as a research project under South Korea's National New Drug Development Project, securing government support for the next two years as the company advances its proprietary aptamer-drug conjugate (ApDC) platform toward global commercialization.
The selection falls under the project's drug development infrastructure expansion initiative, a pan-government R&D program launched in 2021 that supports research across the entire new drug development cycle over a ten-year period. The program aims to enhance the global competitiveness of Korea's pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry while strengthening the domestic drug development ecosystem.
With this backing, Aptamer Sciences (搜索) will conduct optimization and non-clinical development studies for the Trop2-ApDC (搜索) lead compound. The company, led by CEO Jeong Jibhoon, intends to bolster its research capabilities to enter subsequent clinical development stages and lay the groundwork for technology transfer to global pharmaceutical companies.
ApDC Platform: Addressing ADC Limitations in Solid Tumors (搜索)
Trop2-ApDC (搜索) applies Aptamer Sciences (搜索)' core ApDC platform technology, selectively targeting the Trop2 (搜索) protein, which is overexpressed in various solid tumors (搜索). The ApDC — a conjugate of aptamer and drug — is designed to selectively deliver drugs to cancer cells, reducing effects on normal tissues while maximizing anticancer efficacy at tumor sites.
A key differentiator of the ApDC platform lies in the physical properties of aptamers themselves. Aptamers are approximately one-tenth the size of antibodies, a characteristic that Aptamer Sciences (搜索) says provides superior tumor tissue penetration. The company expects this feature will help overcome limitations in intratumoral drug delivery efficiency that have been noted with conventional antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapies.
"ApDC platform can overcome the limitations of existing antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) in the treatment of solid tumors (搜索)," the company stated.
Preclinical Validation and Global Partnering Strategy
Aptamer Sciences (搜索) has confirmed superior tumor-suppressing efficacy of Trop2-ApDC (搜索) in studies involving various tumor models. Trop2 (搜索) has emerged as a major target protein attracting significant interest from the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry as a next-generation anticancer therapy target.
An official from Aptamer Sciences (搜索) stated, "This selection for the National New Drug Development Project demonstrates that the ApDC platform is recognized as an innovative technology capable of addressing the unmet needs of existing ADC therapies. Given the high interest among global big pharma in Trop2 (搜索)-targeted therapies, we will accelerate development to achieve early technology transfer results at the non-clinical stage, based on our platform's competitiveness."
The company plans to leverage the government-supported project to secure robust non-clinical data and expand global partnering opportunities, with the ultimate goal of strengthening its business foundation for entering the global anticancer drug market.
Broader Pipeline Context
Beyond Trop2-ApDC (搜索), Aptamer Sciences (搜索) is conducting Phase 1 clinical trials for its liver cancer (搜索) drug candidate AST-201 and continues to focus on expanding its pipeline and strengthening collaboration with global pharmaceutical companies based on its proprietary aptamer technology.