Reporter Yoon So-young, biospectator
Development and commercialization of genetically modified pigs with CRISPR genetic editing technology
ToolGen announced on the 9th that it has signed a joint business agreement with Genexine and GenNBio for xenotransplantation research and commercialization.
According to this agreement, these three companies plan to jointly research and develop genetically modified pigs for xenotransplantation and establish a cooperative system for clinical trials to accelerate commercialization.
Xenogeneic organ transplantation is a technology that transplants animal organs to patients who need an organ transplant. According to statistics from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the supply rate of organs for transplantation in Korea is 11.8%, and 5.2 patients die every day because they do not receive organ transplants. Xenotransplantation is a technology that is evaluated as a realistic alternative to solve the shortage of organ transplants.
For xenotransplantation, genes that cause immune rejection in the animals donating the organ must be removed. Tulgen explains that its CRISPR genetic modification technology can remove immune rejection genes from organ donor animals with high efficiency and accuracy. He also emphasized that it has proven that it can remove viruses from the animal body, which can be a potential risk factor.
Seongju Kim, CEO of Genenbio, said, “If Toolgen’s gene editing technology and Genenbio’s transgenic pig technology for xenotransplantation and immunosuppression technology meet, we are confident that the practical use of xenotransplantation will also be in the near future.” “We plan to accelerate research and development, focusing on major pipelines such as heterogeneous cornea.”
Toolgen CEO Kim Young-ho said, “This agreement is another example of the expandability of Toolgen’s CRISPR gene editing platform.” In the field, we are promoting open innovation and strategic partnerships so that we can utilize the original technology for genetic modification.”
Genexine is the largest shareholder of Toolgen and Genenbio. Seong Young-cheol, CEO of Genexine, said, “This agreement between the three companies is a good example to show synergy through cooperation between Genexine affiliates.” I will not spare any support for this.”