Latest / The BioHub - by Avetix / Spike Lo - VP Business Development of AP Bio at BIO Boston 2025

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Spike Lo - VP Business Development of AP Bio at BIO Boston 2025 · The BioHub - by Avetix

• 0:04
  So we're in Boston at Bio, and I'm here with Spike Lowe, the
• 0:08
  Head of Business Development for AP Bio.
• 0:11
  Just give a bit of context on who you are and what you're
• 0:13
  doing here. Yeah, got to be able to meet you
• 0:16
  in person eventually, Max. So for me, I'm Spike Lowe.
• 0:21
  And actually the VP of this is leading the BDA efforts here for
• 0:25
  AP Bioscience. So I'm here trying to connect
• 0:29
  with the community, also trying to promote my company AP
• 0:34
  Bioscience, since that we are building up our pipeline and
• 0:37
  also looking for potential partners to work on our TQ
• 0:41
  portfolio. Products.
• 0:43
  Nice. Let's just talk about AP Bio as
• 0:46
  well and what you guys are doing.
• 0:48
  First of all, what what inspired you to join the company?
• 0:50
  What was it? Yeah.
• 0:52
  Yeah, actually AP Bioscience really is a kind of AR and D
• 0:58
  driven company. The founder and the CEO doctor
• 1:01
  HER is purely a protein antibody engineer, scientist and expert
• 1:08
  in this field for more than decades.
• 1:12
  Dr. HER also helping to funding up the catalyst
• 1:16
  biopharmaceutical companies I think more than decades ago and
• 1:20
  they they've been successfully helping Cosbio be able to
• 1:24
  listening to NASDAQ during that time.
• 1:27
  And so Doctor Herr bring on all of his expertise back to his own
• 1:31
  homeland in Taiwan, building up the R&D team.
• 1:34
  And I believe that AP Bioscience having a really good strong R&D
• 1:38
  engines for. So I think that for a successful
• 1:43
  business development cases, you really need to having a really
• 1:46
  good asset and also with a good R&D engines.
• 1:49
  So that's why that passion and also that kind of capability
• 1:53
  inspire me. Yeah, you roll me to this team.
• 1:56
  Nice. What's going on with you guys at
• 1:58
  the moment? What milestones are you you
• 1:59
  hitting? Yeah.
• 2:01
  So far, I think last year we've been successfully closing off
• 2:05
  serious C Sorry, Serious D. Nice.
• 2:09
  Yeah, we've been able to raise about 20,000,000.
• 2:13
  Yeah, so far, so, so far is leading for successful financing
• 2:18
  run. We've been up to 96 million U.S.
• 2:22
  dollars so far. So we have the sufficient runway
• 2:25
  to leading all these efforts be able to advance a few program
• 2:29
  into Phase 2. Amazing.
• 2:31
  What sets you guys apart from other companies out there?
• 2:35
  What makes you different? I think the key is that as I
• 2:39
  just indicate, the R&D capability is that and and also
• 2:44
  the mindset is that we're still willing to pivot for the new
• 2:49
  things eventually, especially those innovations as well.
• 2:53
  Yeah. For example, we are building up
• 2:55
  our own TQ, which is also another piece of engagement
• 3:00
  platforms working on CD137. This kind of a platform which
• 3:08
  enable us to be able to differentiate with a typical CD3
• 3:12
  base T cell gauges. It allows us to be able to
• 3:15
  target specific set of cancer tumor type and then also
• 3:23
  conditionally activate the T cells, especially when you
• 3:27
  engage with cancer cells, enable a safer and also efficient
• 3:33
  treatment options potentially for the patients.
• 3:36
  Yeah, that's awesome. Then we just talking about like
• 3:41
  mindset in the industry. I think this podcast is always a
• 3:44
  big part of like this industry is like that.
• 3:48
  It's pretty volatile. It's like, what are your
• 3:51
  motivations and like what what makes you, what drives you in
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  this industry basically. I think the, the quicker part is
• 3:59
  always the winner mindset. You always willing to be a
• 4:03
  willing to go for extra miles, Yeah, always having the kind of
• 4:08
  urgency, willing to work with your partners or work with your
• 4:12
  clinical investigators, work with your investors, hopefully
• 4:15
  trying to do the best and trying to bring this good potentially
• 4:21
  treatment to the patient as soon as possible.
• 4:23
  Yeah. You mentioned partners as well
• 4:25
  and we're obviously at bio, yeah.
• 4:26
  Yeah, yeah. Yeah, let's talk about potential
• 4:29
  partnerships or like what? What's the aim of this week?
• 4:32
  Yeah, for us, we are still seeking for to having the
• 4:35
  strategic partner which having the resource or the capability
• 4:39
  to bring on our asset to in the global level, which is a key,
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  you know, right now the the drug development industrious this
• 4:47
  need a lot of different resource know how and be able to develop
• 4:53
  the drug smart into strategic ways.
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  So that's why having partners could be able to recognize the
• 5:01
  beauty of the drugs and also having the specialities could be
• 5:04
  able to brought into the global stage, which is critical for
• 5:09
  small biotech like AP Bioscience.
• 5:11
  Yeah. How do you how do you find it
• 5:13
  being in Taiwan and competing on on the global stage?
• 5:17
  I think that for in Taiwan definitely although we don't
• 5:21
  have in that kind of focus from the global stage, but however we
• 5:25
  having a bright scientific people there and we could be
• 5:29
  able to conduct the R&D research in a smart way.
• 5:35
  Yeah. And also the operation cost in
• 5:37
  Taiwan will be would be competitive.
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  So that's why providing us an angle could be able to
• 5:43
  potentially to bring on our our asset in a much wisely budget
• 5:52
  control, a way to be able to deliver the asset and then bring
• 5:57
  on it to clinics. Yeah.
• 5:58
  What's what's next for you guys? Like what's what's coming that's
• 6:01
  exciting? You mean excuse me?
• 6:05
  Just in terms of the future, like where you're going, what's
• 6:07
  exciting and what's going on? Yeah, it was that the probably
• 6:10
  potential next stage is that hopefully in one day if we could
• 6:14
  be able to launch our own products in the United States.
• 6:18
  Yeah. That would be like a major key
• 6:20
  milestone for this company. Amazing.
• 6:22
  What are the? What are that the short term
• 6:25
  goals that would get you to that?
• 6:26
  That point, yeah, definitely finding a partner and and be
• 6:30
  able to for us to be able to prevent this current asset into
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  like, like you know stage which will be the key as well.
• 6:39
  Yeah, nice. Well, look, thanks so much for
• 6:41
  coming on, Spike. Absolute pleasure.
• 6:43
  Yeah, OK. Thank you very much.