Adele (CEO Seungyong Yoon), a company developing an Alzheimer's disease treatment, announced that it will receive the 'Technology Export Award' in the technology export category at the '27th Korea New Drug Development Award (KNDA)' ceremony to be held on February 27th.
The Korea New Drug Development Award, established to promote the development of the domestic biohealth industry and new drug research and development, is hosted by the Korea Drug Research Association and sponsored by government ministries. Adele's recent award recognizes the technological value of its Alzheimer's treatment candidate, "ADEL-Y01," and the achievements of its technology transfer with the global pharmaceutical company Sanofi.
Adele signed a licensing agreement with Sanofi in December 2025, granting it exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights. The total contract value is up to $1.04 billion (approximately KRW 1.53 trillion), including an upfront payment of $80 million (approximately KRW 118 billion), which is non-refundable. This is considered a significant example of a technology export achieved by a domestic bio venture in Phase 1 clinical trials.
ADEL-Y01 selectively targets tau protein acetylation, a key pathological factor in Alzheimer's disease, while being designed to leave normal tau protein unaffected. A recent Phase 1 single-dose (SAD) clinical trial in 40 adults confirmed its safety. The trial results showed no serious adverse reactions or discontinuations even at high doses of up to 100 mg/kg, and dose-proportional pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics were observed.
"This award validates the validity of our pathology-specific, precision-targeted research approach," said Yoon Seung-yong, CEO of Adele. "We plan to collaborate with our global partner, Sanofi, to provide ADEL-Y01 to Alzheimer's patients worldwide." He added that the company will leverage the secured resources to develop a follow-up pipeline and lead research into intractable brain diseases.
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