ABL Bio, a South Korean company specialising in bispecific antibodies, announced on Friday that it will receive an upfront payment of USD40m for a licence, research and collaboration agreement for its Grabody platform, and an equity investment of USD15m, from US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY).

ABL Bio and Lilly are currently conducting joint research and development on multiple therapeutic candidates leveraging the Grabody platform across various modalities.

In parallel with strengthening its collaboration with Lilly, ABL Bio says that it plans to accelerate R&D on its core technologies -- including the bispecific antibody platform 'Grabody', bispecific ADCs, and dual-payload ADCs -- using the newly secured funding.

Sang Hoon Lee, ABL Bio CEO, said: "With the completion of the relevant administrative procedures, including the HSR Act, ABL Bio will receive the upfront payment and equity investment from Lilly. The company plans to use the newly secured funding to expand the indications of its Grabody platform into high-unmet-need areas such as obesity and muscle disorders. ABL Bio also intends to extend clinical development of its bispecific immuno-oncology candidates into combination therapies and focus on advancing next-generation ADC programmes."