Development of Therapeutic and Cancer Vaccines Using Proprietary Immune-Enhancement Platform Technology
[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] Cha Vaccine Institute (CEO Yeom Jeong-seon), which is preparing for a KOSDAQ listing, held an online investor briefing on the 5th and announced that it aims to return to profitability in 2023 through revenue from technology transfers and continue its growth.
Cha Vaccine Institute, an affiliate of Cha Biotech, is a bio company developing next-generation vaccines and immunotherapies using its self-developed immune enhancement platform technology. Immune enhancers are vaccine adjuvants that increase immune responses to vaccine antigens through immune enhancement and antigen delivery functions.
After listing, Cha Vaccine Institute plans to continuously expand its various preventive and therapeutic vaccine pipelines based on its immune enhancement platform technology.
Yeom Jeong-seon, CEO of Cha Vaccine Institute, emphasized, "We plan to expand the current four pipelines undergoing clinical trials to more than eight by 2026," and "Our goal is to return to profitability in 2023 as sales increase through technology transfers."
The immune enhancer developed by Cha Vaccine Institute is the only next-generation immune enhancement platform technology worldwide that utilizes TLR2 and TLR3 ligands. It is the only domestic vaccine company holding an S-grade patent related to immune enhancers.
Cha Vaccine Institute’s immune enhancer 'L-Pampo' and its liposomal formulation 'Lipo-Pam' have over 100 times the antibody formation effect compared to existing immune enhancers, and activate immune cells such as T cells to induce cellular immune responses that directly attack viruses.
On the day, Jo Jeong-gi, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Cha Vaccine Institute, said, "It realistically takes about two years to produce antigens capable of mass production," adding, "In protein recombinant vaccines, the most important factor is the immune enhancer. When COVID-19 vaccines are administered annually, if Cha Vaccine Institute, which provides immune enhancers, collaborates with antigen developers, we believe it will be competitive."
Cha Vaccine Institute holds various pipelines including preventive vaccines, therapeutic vaccines, cancer vaccines, and immuno-oncology therapeutics. Representative examples include ▲chronic hepatitis B therapeutic vaccine ▲hepatitis B preventive vaccine for non-responders ▲recombinant shingles vaccine.
The company explained that if the chronic hepatitis B therapeutic vaccine is developed, it will be the first commercialized therapeutic vaccine that induces immune responses in chronic hepatitis B patients in an immune-tolerant state, leading to a cure.
Additionally, leveraging the efficacy of 'L-Pampo,' which induces cancer cell death and creates a highly immunogenic environment optimized for immune checkpoint inhibitors, the company is also developing immuno-oncology therapeutics. In June, it signed a contract worth 200 billion KRW to transfer immune enhancer technology applied to cancer vaccines.
CEO Yeom said, "Through the KOSDAQ listing, as Cha Vaccine Institute’s credibility and recognition improve, we will be able to secure a favorable position in technology transfer contracts with overseas companies," and added, "We will grow into a global company developing vaccines and therapeutics for various diseases beyond infectious diseases, including chronic diseases and cancer."
Cha Vaccine Institute’s public offering consists of 3.95 million shares, with a desired offering price of 11,000 KRW to 15,000 KRW per share, resulting in a public offering size of 43.45 billion KRW to 59.25 billion KRW. After demand forecasting on the 5th and 6th and subscription on the 12th and 13th of this month, it is scheduled to be listed on KOSDAQ on the 22nd. Samsung Securities is the lead underwriter.
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