On March 3rd, Samsung BioLogics (CEO Tae-han Kim) and STCube (CEO Hyun-Jin Jung) signed a Contract Development Organization (CDO) contract for STT-003 antibody, an immune checkpoint inhibitor candidate. An immune checkpoint inhibitor is a drug that helps immune cells attack cancer cells by activating immune function as much as possible through suppression of the immune response avoidance signals of cancer cells.

Through the contract, Samsung BioLogics plans to produce global clinical and non-clinical materials as well as providing development services ranging from cell line development of STT-003 antibody to process development, clinical sample production, and application of Investigational New Drug (IND).


Samsung BioLogics has been building track records rapidly since expanding into the CDO field in 2018 and carrying out a total of 47 projects to date. And STCube selected Samsung BioLogics as a partner company for the immuno-oncology development due to its world's best CMO, CDO, and CRO competitiveness. Decisions on both sides took only two weeks from the initial discussion stage to the completion of the contract.

STT-003 antibody, discovered at the R&D center of STCube, Maryland, USA, is a candidate for the immune checkpoint inhibitor that has been under joint research and signed Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) with multinational pharmaceuticals. STT-003 is identified as a novel immune gateway that extensively expresses over the surfaces of immune and cancer cells, suppressing their immune functions. In particular, STT-003 is expressed higher than PD-L1 in various cancer cells, and the anti-cancer effect of STT-003 antibody is expected to be superior to the existing anti-cancer drug, PD-1/PD-L1 antibody.

STCube plans to conduct global clinical studies sequentially starting next year to demonstrate the clinical safety and efficacy of the combination therapy of the STT-003 antibody as well as monotherapy. In addition, STCube is also preparing for the global clinical trials on the STT-003 antibody with leading medical institutions such as MD Anderson Cancer Center.

"We have signed a contract with Samsung BioLogics, a global CMO, CDO, and CRO company, to produce first-in-class STT-003 antibody, laying the foundation for stable implementation of global clinical trials," Hyun-Jin Jung, CEO of STCube said. "So far, several globally recognized immunologists have agreed to serve on the scientific advisory board for phase I clinical studies of STT-003 antibody, including the head of clinical research at a world-leading clinical institution for cancer treatment."

"We are proud to contribute to the development of this exciting novel target anti-cancer drug candidate through our continued partnership," said Tae-han Kim, CEO of Samsung BioLogics. "As a world-leading CMO, CDO, and CRO partner, we will continue to offer Faster & Better service to our clients for maximum client satisfaction through Samsung's competitive advantages: faster timeline, excellent quality, and outstanding capability."

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