Uribio, MOU for Joint Development of Food and Pharmaceutical Source Materials

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Woori Bio announced on the 28th that it has signed a multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the joint development of plant factory-based food and pharmaceutical raw materials with the Natural Product Medicine Research Group of the Ochang Branch of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, GC Green Cross Wellbeing, and the College of Agriculture, Life and Environment Sciences at Chungbuk National University.

This agreement was signed with the aim of developing plant factory-based food, pharmaceuticals, and functional cosmetic raw materials. Woori Bio plans to focus on developing mass production technology for high-quality natural raw materials using state-of-the-art LED plant factories.

The materials that Woori Bio will focus on developing through this agreement include about 10 species of native Korean plants such as Sankkoripul. Sankkoripul is a material developed by the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology as a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, and the technology was transferred to Youngjin Pharm. Currently, it has completed up to phase 2a clinical trials with the U.S. FDA for approval as a natural product drug.

When natural materials are cultivated outdoors, there is a risk of contamination and significant variation in the active ingredients of the raw materials. Therefore, to commercialize natural products, it is essential to establish a supply system that can stably procure standardized raw materials.

Through this joint research agreement, Woori Bio has secured multiple candidate materials for plant factory-based food and pharmaceutical development, including marigold, which is currently being jointly developed with Yuhan Health Care.

A Woori Bio official stated, “We will continue to form an industry-academia-research cooperation network to secure mass production technology for candidate materials proven as high value-added materials within a short period and strive to accelerate the commercialization of natural raw materials.”