[약업신문]ST Pharm, joint development of LNP platform technology with Ewha University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation

The agreement between the two companies is the first achievement of an open innovation research project contest held twice in South Korea and the United States by ST Pharm to develop its own mRNA in June last year.

According to the agreement, estifam mRNA business development director Ju-sung Yang and Professor Hyeok-jin Lee of the College of Pharmacy at Ewha Womans University are responsible for the development.Lipid Nano Particles (LNP), a drug delivery system for RNA gene vaccines and therapeutics, such as mRNA and siRNA. ) Joint development of platform technology. In addition, ST Pharm will support the entire development cost for the next two years, and after completion of the development, the intellectual property rights will be applied under the joint name.

If the temperature stability of the drug delivery system is improved through this joint development, it is expected that the cryopreservation problem, the biggest problem of mRNA vaccines, can be improved.

Among RNA, mRNA, in particular, is very vulnerable to the surrounding environment such as small temperature changes, and is rapidly degraded by numerous degrading enzymes in our body. In addition, it is very difficult to pass through the cell membrane due to its high molecular weight.

The LNP platform technology is a drug delivery technology that is the core of the development of RNA gene vaccines and therapeutics. The mRNA molecules are wrapped with lipid nanoparticles to protect them from microscopic environmental changes and degradation by enzymes, and allow them to pass through cell membranes.

It is an essential technology for the production of the most urgent mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, but it is a cutting-edge technology that only a few companies such as Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, and CureVac have. There are no companies with this technology in Korea.

In the future, ST Pharm will additionally secure a new LNP platform technology through joint research with Professor Lee Hyuk-jin along with the LNP platform technology under its own research, and will be widely applied to the development of its own new drugs and CDMO in the field of infectious diseases and anti-cancer vaccines and therapeutics.

An official of ST Pharm said, “The LNP platform technology is an essential technology for protecting people’s lives and vaccination sovereignty against not only the current COVID-19, but also the mutation of COVID-19 and new viruses that may appear in the future.” “We plan to develop and produce RNA gene vaccines and therapeutics encompassing mRNA and siRNA by securing additional LNP platform technology.”

Meanwhile, ST Pharm has already secured the 5′-Capping platform technology, which is an important core technology for mRNA synthesis and antibody generation, has completed a domestic patent application and is preparing a global patent. In addition, if the expansion of the dedicated GMP plant for mass production of mRNA is completed in the first half of the year, it can produce 2.4 million doses of mRNA per year based on Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, and we will also review facility expansion of 120 million doses per year in the future. In progress.