ST Pharm announced on the 8th that it has signed an agreement with the Ewha Womans University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation for joint development of a new gene drug delivery system platform technology.
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.
Following the conclusion of the agreement, Vice President Yang Ju-sung, head of ST Pharm mRNA business development department, and Professor Hyeok-jin Lee of Ewha Womans University’s College of Pharmacy, will be responsible for the development.Lipid Nano Particles, a drug delivery system for RNA gene vaccines and therapeutic agents such as mRNA and siRNA. , LNP) jointly develop platform technology. 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. Currently, it is a necessary technology for the production of the most urgent mRNA-based Corona 19 vaccine, but it is a high-tech technology that only a few companies such as Modena, Pfizer, and Curebag have, and there are no domestic companies.
In addition to the LNP platform technology under its own research, ST Pharm will additionally secure a new LNP platform technology through joint research with Professor Lee Hyuk-jin, and will be widely applied to the development of its own new drugs and consignment development and production (CDMO) in the field of infectious diseases and anti-cancer vaccines and treatments. to be.
An official of the company said, “Through this joint development, we plan to develop and produce RNA gene vaccines and therapeutics that encompass mRNA and siRNA by additionally securing a new LNP platform technology.”
When Estipharm completes the expansion of its dedicated GMP plant for mass production of mRNA in the first half of the year, it can produce 2.4 million doses (based on Pfizer vaccine) of mRNA raw materials per year. In the future, it is also considering the capacity expansion of 120 million doses per year.