[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] ST Pharm, an affiliate of Dong-A Socio Holdings, has established a biotech company specializing in new drug development.
On the 5th, ST Pharm announced that it has established 'Levatio Therapeutics,' a biotech company specializing in new drug development utilizing ribonucleic acid (RNA) and CAR-NKT new technology platforms, in San Diego, USA.
Through this company establishment, ST Pharm aims to expand its business area into new drug development and CDMO in the cell therapy field based on its experience in contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for oligonucleotide and messenger RNA (mRNA) gene therapy drugs.
San Diego, USA, forms a cluster of global pharmaceutical companies' research centers such as Pfizer, Merck, and Novartis, as well as biotechs like Ionis and Alnylam, making joint research and technology export negotiations more accessible.
Dr. Hyunbae Ji was recruited and appointed as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and CEO of Levatio. Dr. Ji is a global expert in oncology and immunology, having researched immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases for 27 years.
He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Medical School and completed postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute. Subsequently, he worked at Harvard Medical School, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. He also participated in immuno-oncology drug development at biotechs OncoMed Pharmaceuticals and Ambrex.
Levatio plans to build circular RNA and CAR-NKT platforms and focus on developing immuno-oncology and autoimmune disease treatments.
Circular RNA has recently been increasingly linked to diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's, leading to the initiation of therapeutic development using it. Orna Therapeutics, a U.S. company developing circular RNA cancer drugs, secured $100 million in Series A funding.
NKT cells are immune cells possessing characteristics of both T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. Existing CAR-T platform therapies, which show excellent immuno-oncology effects, have been criticized for difficulties in mass production and high costs due to patient-specific customized manufacturing. However, the new CAR-NKT platform therapy can extract NKT cells from healthy individuals, enabling mass production, cost reduction, and lower immune rejection, allowing development as standardized products.
Going forward, Levatio will establish proprietary technology to proliferate CD4+ NKT cells capable of treating over 100 autoimmune diseases and CD8+ NKT cells capable of eliminating cancer cells. It also plans to develop various anticancer and autoimmune disease treatments utilizing mRNA or circular RNA to enhance NKT cell functions.
An ST Pharm official stated, “Levatio plans to establish four new drug pipelines for treatments of laryngeal cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, and autoimmune diseases by 2022 and enter global clinical trials from 2023. Levatio aims to lead new therapeutic fields through its outstanding technology in circular RNA and CAR-NKT platforms, and through this, ST Pharm will strive to create synergy by expanding its business area as a gene therapy and cell therapy CDMO.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
