À̹ÌÁö È®´ë [Photo provided by GC Cell Corp.]
GC Cell Corp., an affiliate of GC Pharma Corp., has signed two separate consignment production deals valued around 8.1 billion won ($6.7 million) in total at its cell center located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the South Korean cell therapy developer announced on Monday.
Under an agreement with San Diego-based Artiva Biotherapeutics, GC Cell will produce AB-101, an investigational umbilical cord blood-derived NK (natural killer) cell therapy, for a phase 1/2 trial in the United States. The production will last for 21 months until the end of next year and the transaction is worth $4.32 million, the company said, adding that the deal value is subject to change pending production schedule and yield levels.
It marks GC Pharma¡¯s first CMO deal for a clinical trial therapy in the U.S., which reflects the industry¡¯s recognition of the company¡¯s expertise and production facility in terms of stability and quality, the company said.
The other deal signed with GC Lab Cell requires GC Cell to produce peripheral blood-derived NK cell therapy MG4101 and mesenchymal stem cell therapy CT3103. GC Cell will manufacture these two therapies and supply them to GC Lab Cell for 21 months at a contract price of 2.87 billion won ($2.37 million) in total.
The latest CMO deals are 22 times larger than GC Cell¡¯s CMO revenue last year, and account for 22.5 percent of the company¡¯s total sales.
Kosdaq-listed GC Cell shares finished 0.46 percent down at 44,000 won on Tuesday.
By Kim Byung-ho and Minu Kim
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