NEOK Bio

About NEOK Bio

NEOK Bio, Inc. is a Palo Alto-based biotechnology company developing novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) to improve outcomes for cancer patients. The company officially launched out of stealth mode in November 2025 with $75 million in Series A financing. Its principal investor is ABL Bio, a South Korean biotech firm specializing in antibody engineering.

The company was co-founded by its CEO, Mayank Gandhi, who previously served as Chief Business Officer at Effector Therapeutics and worked at Genentech earlier in his career. NEOK Bio was established to advance the clinical development of assets created by ABL Bio, effectively acting as its U.S.-based clinical development arm for its ADC pipeline.

NEOK Bio's core focus is on bispecific ADCs, which are designed to target two different cancer antigens simultaneously. This dual-targeting strategy aims to overcome the limitations of conventional, single-target ADCs, such as drug resistance, off-tumor toxicity, and a narrow therapeutic window. By increasing selectivity and internalization rates, the company's approach has the potential to enhance cell-killing efficacy and improve the overall safety profile of the treatments. The company utilizes a proprietary linker-payload technology, SYNtecan E™, which provides strong linker stability and favorable biophysical properties.

The firm's pipeline includes two lead candidates. The first, NEOK001, targets ROR1 and B7-H3. The second, NEOK002, targets EGFR and MUC1. These programs are directed at solid tumors with significant unmet needs, including thoracic, gastrointestinal, and gynecological cancers. NEOK Bio plans to file Investigational New Drug (IND) applications for both programs by early 2026 and initiate Phase 1 clinical trials in the U.S. in mid-2026, with initial data readouts expected in 2027.