ST Pharm (CEO Kim Kyung-jin) announced on the 8th that it has signed an agreement with Ewha Womans University’s Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation (Director Hyang-sook Lee) to jointly develop 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.
In accordance with the agreement, Stpharm’s mRNA business development director Ju-sung Yang and Professor Lee Hyuk-jin of Ewha Womans University will be responsible for the development of the drug delivery system for RNA gene vaccines such as mRNA and siRNA, as well as the technology of the Lipid Nano Particle (LNP) platform. Jointly develop.
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.
The company expects to improve the cryopreservation problem, the biggest problem of mRNA vaccines, if the temperature stability of the drug delivery system is improved through this joint development.
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 molecule is wrapped with lipid nanoparticles to protect it from microscopic environmental changes and degradation by enzymes, allowing it to pass through cell membranes.
This is a cutting-edge technology that is essential for the production of the most urgent mRNA-based Corona 19 vaccine, and only a few companies such as Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, and CureVac have it. 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 Hyeok-jin Lee along with the LNP platform technology under its own research, and will develop its own new drugs in the field of infectious diseases and anti-cancer vaccines and treatments, and will be widely applied to CDMO.
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 Corona 19, but also the Corona 19 virus mutations 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 products,” he said.
ST Pharm has already secured the 5′-Capping platform technology, which is an important key technology for mRNA synthesis and antibody generation, has completed a domestic patent application and is preparing a global patent. 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. In the future, it is also considering the capacity expansion of 120 million doses per year.
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