Ticaros Transfers Technology from Seoul National University... "Accelerating Next-Generation Immuno-Oncology Drug Development"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Bio venture company Ticaros is accelerating the localization of the ‘Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell’ (CAR-T) therapy by acquiring technology transfer from the Seoul National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation.

On the 22nd, Ticaros announced that it signed a technology transfer and equity transfer agreement with the Seoul National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation for the 'CLIP-CAR' technology, which applies conjugation enhancement technology. 'CLIP-CAR' is a technology patented in July by Ticaros’ founders, Professor Kyungho Choi and Professor Eunyoung Choi of Seoul National University College of Medicine.

The contract includes Seoul National University becoming a shareholder of Ticaros by receiving a portion of shares donated by the company’s executives and three founders, while Ticaros secures priority usage rights for some intellectual property rights to be filed by the two professors in the future.

This is expected to set a precedent where Seoul National University, ranked first among domestic universities in technology transfer achievements, actively contributes to knowledge industrialization, startup activation, and economic revitalization by creating a new model of transferring academic research results to companies.

A Ticaros representative said, "The founders, who are researchers, expressed their intention to donate shares as a way to contribute to the school and society without harming the interests of existing shareholders."

'CLIP-CAR' is a technology that enhances the function of CAR-T by structural modification of the CAR protein. The professors devised a CAR protein structure that structurally stabilizes the contact surface between tumor cells and CAR-T cells, enabling CAR-T cells to bind to tumor cells for a longer time. The company explained that CLIP CAR-T cells showed improved anticancer efficacy compared to the existing Novartis CAR-T therapy Kymriah CAR structure.

Ticaros was established in 2018 by Professor Kyungho Choi, Professor Eunyoung Choi, and CEO Jaewon Lee. The company developed T-cell activation technology and registered patents in the United States and Japan in 2017. In addition, it has internalized all technological elements necessary for CAR-T gene therapy development, including antibody development technology, gene delivery technology, and cell culture technology.

The representative said, "By applying the existing technology (Converter-CAR) and CLIP-CAR technology, we can create a platform capable of developing various CAR-T therapies targeting hematologic malignancies and solid tumors."

Meanwhile, the venture industry expects that the structure of Ticaros’ technology transfer contract will also contribute to activating professor-led startups. Until now, when professors filed patents, universities owned the rights, and when professors started companies, the intellectual property rights relationship between the company and the university often became ambiguous. This sometimes resulted in university-owned technologies not being commercialized in a timely manner or disputes arising with university startups.

The representative said, "This contract was concluded to resolve the 'ownership issue of future development technologies' faced by all companies founded within universities," adding, "We will create a model case for venture companies through responsible management by the executives."