SK Biopharmaceuticals announced a licence agreement with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) to acquire the exclusive worldwide rights for Research and Development (R&D), manufacturing, and commercialisation of WARF’s “WT-7695,” a preclinical-stage radiopharmaceutical therapy candidate developed in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This agreement represents SK Biopharmaceuticals’ second in-licensed asset in the radiopharmaceutical therapy field, following its first asset “SKL35501 (formerly FL-091)” in 2024. Since then, SK Biopharmaceuticals has continued to strengthen its foundation in the radiopharmaceutical field through supply agreements with TerraPower, a US nuclear innovation company, and PanTera, a Belgian radioisotope producer, securing Actinium-225 (225Ac), and through multiple research collaboration agreements to broaden its expertise and capabilities across the full radiopharmaceutical value chain.

WT-7695 is a small-molecule radiopharmaceutical candidate in pre-clinical stage designed to target carbonic anhydrase IX (CA9), a transmembrane protein that plays a critical role in cancer cell growth and metastasis under hypoxic conditions. CA9 is highly expressed in clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC) and other solid tumours such as pancreatic and colorectal cancers—making it a validated and selective target for radiopharmaceutical therapy development. Pre-clinical studies have shown promising efficacy, suggesting that WT-7695 has the potential to become the best-in-class radiopharmaceutical candidate.

“This agreement underscores the promise of CA9 as a target in advancing cancer treatment for patients around the world. We’re proud of the collaboration between our WARF Therapeutics team and the University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, whose work paved the way for this partnership with SK Biopharmaceuticals. Together, we’re committed to accelerating the development of this promising therapy and bringing it closer to the patients who need it," said Erik Iverson, CEO, WARF.

Through this licence agreement, SK Biopharmaceuticals continues to pursue a balanced growth strategy, strengthening internal capabilities while expanding strategic partnerships to advance R&D in radiopharmaceutical therapy. The company aims to build a robust and comprehensive radiopharmaceutical value chain, encompassing drug discovery, radioisotope sourcing, preclinical and clinical development.

“By securing this candidate with demonstrated pre-clinical efficacy, SK Biopharmaceuticals will further diversify its radiopharmaceutical therapy portfolio and reinforce its R&D capabilities through global collaboration. We will continue to expand our pipeline based on validated targets, strengthen our expertise across the integrated radiopharmaceutical value chain, and accelerate the development of next-generation cancer treatments to deliver meaningful solutions for patients with high unmet medical needs worldwide,” said Donghoon Lee, CEO, SK Biopharmaceuticals.