As part of the deal, BioAtla will direct BioDuro’s efforts to advance these compounds through the preclinical and Phase I clinical phases and each candidate will be licensed to local Chinese biopharmaceutical firms for later stage clinical development and commercialization in the country.
BioAtla president, chief executive officer and chairman Jay Short said: "Working together with BioDuro through our ongoing relationship and leveraging the strengths of each company, we have identified two high-quality antibody candidates that address large market opportunities in China.
"This development structure provides an avenue for us to participate in the Chinese pharmaceutical marketplace at the highest value-added point with these therapeutic opportunities."
BioDuro general manager and chief scientific officer Jasmine Cui said: "The Chinese pharmaceutical market is growing at an extremely rapid rate, and is predicted to be the second-largest pharmaceutical market in the world by 2020.
"In addition, the value in this market is increasingly shifting to differentiated proprietary products that can meet global pharmaceutical standards."
The deal is aimed at providing treatments that significantly improve the therapeutic result and safety compared to the existing available therapies.