LabGenius Therapeutics and South Korea’s LG Chem have struck a multi-year research collaboration, option, and licensing deal to develop an AI-designed, tumour-targeting antibody aimed at improving next-generation cancer treatments.

 

The partnership will see LabGenius apply its machine learning-driven antibody discovery platform, EVA, to design and engineer multispecific antibodies with improved therapeutic performance, particularly targeting solid tumours that remain difficult to treat with current immunotherapies.

 

The collaboration is focused on overcoming a major limitation in existing cancer drugs—on-target, off-tumour toxicity—by developing tumour-selective therapies that can precisely target antigens expressed across multiple cancer types.

 

“Partnering with LG Chem represents a very important moment for LabGenius and provides further validation of our platform’s ability to design highly optimised multispecific antibodies,” said Dr. James Field, CEO of LabGenius. 

 

“We welcome this opportunity to leverage our proprietary discovery capabilities to advance the development of safer and more effective immunotherapies for patients with solid tumours.”

 

LG Chem said the deal reflects growing momentum behind AI-driven drug discovery.

 

“LabGenius possesses a highly capable and systematic platform that enables rapid candidate exploration and early evaluation through a closed-loop structure integrating automated wet labs and computational dry labs. 

 

"Through this collaboration, we aim to quickly identify novel oncology drug candidates with improved efficacy and reduced toxicity in areas of high unmet medical need,” said Jineon So, Head of R&D, Life Sciences Division at LG Chem.

 

Science Minister Lord Vallance also highlighted the broader significance of AI in healthcare, saying: "Cancer will touch many of us or our families over the course of our lives, but from drug discovery to faster diagnoses, emerging technologies like AI are transforming our ability to treat and cure this awful disease. 

 

"By bringing together the power of machine learning and research expertise, this collaboration has the potential to deliver new treatments which are more efficient and have fewer side-effects - potentially improving outcomes for patients all over the world."

 

Under the agreement, LabGenius will lead early-stage development through preclinical in vitro studies, after which LG Chem will take over further preclinical work, including in vivo testing, and will hold the option to in-license the resulting asset.

 

Financial terms include an undisclosed upfront payment to LabGenius, potential early milestone payments, and—if LG Chem exercises its option—triple-digit million-dollar milestones tied to clinical, regulatory, and commercial progress, along with royalties on future net sales. LG Chem will fully fund research and development under the collaboration.

 

The deal underscores accelerating industry investment in AI-powered biologics discovery, as companies race to build smarter, more targeted cancer therapies with fewer side effects.