Handok Pharmaceuticals announced on the 30th that it had recently received approval to change the clinical trial protocol for its candidate, 'ABL001(CTX-009),' which the company is developing as a treatment for biliary tract cancer, to expand the trial overseas into a global clinical trial.

ABL001 is a next-generation anticancer drug that was developed using a bispecific antibody platform technology. Handok has signed a licensing agreement with ABL Bio and owns the domestic rights for the drug. The company has been concentrating on studying the ABL001's efficacy on biliary tract cancer since February 2021 and led Phase II trials for the drug in Korea.

Handok explained that it has establi