Benzinga | Oct 12, 2021 08:49AM EDT

ABVC BioPharma Restructures Joint Venture With Lucida

ABVC Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABVC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic solutions in oncology/hematology, CNS, and ophthalmology, today announced the execution of a joint venture agreement with Lucidam, a private investment firm based in Tokyo. The agreement calls for business development collaboration through BioLite Japan, an existing affiliate of ABVC, that seeks to identify early-stage opportunities in drug development, digital health, and medical device technology. Pursuant to the joint venture agreement, ABVC will retain equity ownership in BioLite Japan at 49% (rather than its pre-agreement 50% ownership) and Lucidam will retain equity ownership in BioLite Japan at 51% (rather than its pre-agreement 50% ownership).

Dr. Toru J. Seo has agreed to lead the new joint venture which will be based in Tokyo. Dr. Seo has vast pharma industry experience in R&D and business development from his previous employment with GSK, Merck, Taisho and, most recently, with Pfizer, as its Senior Director and Asia Pacific Lead in the Worldwide Business Development business office.

"This joint venture should allow us to further ensure access to additional early-stage product candidates that we otherwise would not have access to without this partnership," said Dr. Howard Doong, Chief Executive Officer of ABVC. "Dr. Seo has a distinguished career in healthcare and business in Japan and Asia and will play a significant role in expanding our pipeline at an accelerated pace."

Under the terms of the agreement, BioLite Japan will identify and license New Chemical Entities (NCEs), New Biological Entities (NBEs), diagnostic tools, biomarkers, and medical devices in the early stages of discovery and development anywhere in the world but primarily in Japan. After conducting any necessary pre-clinical studies, BioLite Japan will transfer the rights of the most promising research to ABVC for further clinical development, regulatory approvals, and subsequent commercialization in exchange for product royalties and/or milestone payments. In addition, BioLite