AprilBio, a company developing biopharmaceuticals, announced on June 20th that it has licensed out 'APB-R3,' an autoimmune diseases candidate, to the U.S.-based novel drug developer Evommune.

It has been contracted for up to US$475 million (approximately KRW 655 billion), including a non-refundable upfront fee of US$15 million (KRW 20.7 billion), with a separate royalty payment for sales.

APB-R3 is a biological candidate targeting interleukin (IL)-18. Since there are no commercialized products with the same mechanism, APB-R3 will be the first-in-class drug when it is commercialized.

AprilBio demonstrated the drug tolerance and safety of APB-R3 in recently disclosed phase 1