South Korea's LegoChem Biosciences (LCB) has entered into a license agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen), a Johnson & Johnson (J&J) company, to develop and commercialise LCB84, a Trop2 directed antibody drug conjugate (ADC).

Under the terms of the agreement, LCB will grant Janssen an exclusive, worldwide license for the development and commercialisation of LCB84. LCB is eligible for up to potentially $1.7 billion in total consideration including an upfront payment of $100 million, an option exercise payment of $200 million as well as potential development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on net sales.

The companies will collaborate during the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial, with Janssen solely responsible for clinical development and commercialisation after option exercise.

LCB84, a Trop2 directed ADC applying LCB’s next-generation ADC platform technology and Trop2 antibody licensed from Mediterranea Theranostic, S.r.l, is being studied in a recently initiated Phase 1/2 clinical trial in the US. The ADC has a distinctive targeted mechanism, binding a unique cleaved form of the Trop2 antigen, which is highly expressed in cancer cells. Preclinical data demonstrated a differentiated safety and efficacy profile compared across multiple cancers, showing LCB84’s promise as a Trop2-targeting ADC.