A2A Pharmaceuticals Inc. Today Announced a Multi-target Co-development Agreement With Daewoong Pharmaceutical for AI-enhanced Oncology Drug Discovery

A2A Pharmaceuticals Inc. (A2A) announced an agreement to design and co-develop oncology drug candidates with Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Daewoong), a major pharmaceutical company in South Korea, using its proprietary AI-enabled drug discovery platform SCULPTtm. The companies will collaborate on up to three oncology drug targets to accelerate Daewoong's efforts to develop innovative oncology treatments through open collaboration.

Under this collaboration, A2A will use its computational drug discovery platform to design new compound structures, which will be synthesized and evaluated by Daewoong. Both parties will actively cooperate in preclinical optimization and selection of lead candidates to enter the clinic.

A2A will receive upfront and preclinical milestones for each discovery target under the agreement, and could receive clinical and commercialization milestones, and royalties. A2A will have the option to develop compounds from the collaboration that Daewoong decides not to pursue.

"A2A's technology has demonstrated success going after difficult-to-drug targets in diseases with high unmet needs for patients", said A2A CEO, Dr. Sotirios Stergiopoulos. He added "We're excited to embark on this collaborative journey with Daewoong, combining our strengths to bring high quality drugs to the patients who need them faster."

With this partnership, Daewoong expects to expand its portfolio in oncology, while also to secure a successful case of AI-based drug development, which has been emerging as a recent pharmaceutical industry trend. There is justified precedent, because compared to traditional new drug development processes, A2A's proprietary SCULPTtm platform will generate higher quality new drug candidates while greatly reducing the time and cost of development.

"Even though it is still in its very early stages, the development of new AI-based drugs is rising globally" said Sengho Jeon, CEO of Daewoong, "This open-collaboration between Daewoong's strong expertise in new drug development and A2A's SCULPTtm platform technology will significantly enhance the competitiveness of Daewoong in the oncology market."

About A2A Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
- A2A Pharmaceuticals Inc. is committed to the development of new therapeutic agents that serve highly unmet patient needs. Our focus area is oncology and a program for Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy. A2A's technology applies a proprietary therapeutic design methodology called SCULPTtm, towards inhibiting protein-protein interactions and other enzymes of pharmacological importance in a range of diseases. SCULPTtm enables the design of novel ligands specifically to match the unique topological features of disease targets and has integrated artificial intelligence/deep learning tools within the platform. SCULPTtm radically accelerates lead drug discovery and optimization through systematic design, creating a broad range of highly selective new drug candidates for difficult to drug targets.

About Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.,
- Established in 1945, Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a leading South Korean pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, and commercializes pharmaceuticals for both domestic and international markets. With its strong and competent in-house R&D and qualified manufacturing facilities (cGMP), Daewoong provides a total healthcare solution to customers across the globe. Aiming to become a global healthcare company, Daewoong has broadened international operations by establishing branch offices and research centers throughout Asia and the United States. Also Daewoong has expanded strategic partnerships in more than 100 countries worldwide.

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