Curacle Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ: 365270), a biopharmaceutical company focused on therapies for vascular dysfunction, announced on 6/5 through a public disclosure that it has completed receipt of the upfront payment under the global licensing agreement for “MT-103,” a bispecific antibody for retinal diseases jointly developed with MabTics.

The total upfront payment amounted to $8 million (approximately KRW 12.0 billion, based on an exchange rate of KRW 1,500/USD), of which Curacle’s share is $4 million (approximately KRW 6.0 billion).

Curacle received $3.25 million (approximately KRW 4.9 billion) in cash, along with $0.75 million (approximately KRW 1.1 billion) worth of equity in Memento Medicines, the counterparty to the agreement.

The company explained that, beyond the cash proceeds, securing equity in Memento Medicines provides Curacle with an opportunity to participate in the future growth value associated with the development progress of MT-103.

Previously, Curacle and MabTics entered into a global licensing agreement with U.S.-based company Memento Medicines for MT-103. The total deal value, including upfront payment as well as development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, is up to $1.07775 billion (approximately KRW 1.6166 trillion, based on an exchange rate of KRW 1,500/USD).

Under the agreement terms, Curacle and MabTics will jointly receive the $8 million upfront payment, up to $82.25 million in development and regulatory milestones, and up to $987.5 million in commercial milestones. Revenues will be shared equally between the two companies in accordance with their partnership agreement.

MT-103 is a triple-action bispecific antibody designed to simultaneously inhibit VEGF, block Ang-2, and activate Tie2 signaling. The candidate is being developed for retinal diseases including wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME).

Memento Medicines is a U.S.-based NewCo biotech company established for the development of MT-103.

A Curacle representative stated, “Memento is backed by global top-tier healthcare investors, validates the competitiveness of MT-103. Through this agreement, we believe Curacle has established meaningful connections within the global healthcare ecosystem, which could create various opportunities for the development and commercialization of our broader pipeline going forward.”

Meanwhile, Memento is preparing an official announcement regarding its investor syndicate and financing details, which are expected to be disclosed by the company in the future.