ST Pharm Presents at 'TIDES USA'... "mRNA CDMO Competitiveness and Increased Oligo Production Capacity"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] ST Pharm announced on the 16th that it gave a presentation on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) at the 'TIDES USA' conference held in Boston, USA, from the 9th to the 12th (local time).

Yang Joo-sung, head of ST Pharm's Biotech Research Institute and mRNA Business Development Office, presented on the topic "mRNA CDMO: Development of mRNA Platform Technology Utilizing Know-how from the Oligo CDMO Business," introducing ST Pharm's competitive mRNA platform technology and plans to increase oligonucleotide production capacity through the construction of the second oligo building.

The TIDES USA conference is the world's largest conference covering the entire spectrum of new drug development, including the discovery and clinical development of candidates in the fields of oligonucleotides, peptides, mRNA, and gene therapies. More than 150 top CEOs and scientists from the industry, including Moderna, BioNTech, and Ionis, presented at this conference.

Additionally, ST Pharm held partnering meetings with global pharmaceutical companies. They met with a total of 34 companies, including global pharmaceutical firms such as GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Janssen, Eli Lilly, and Merck, as well as biotech companies like Arrowhead, Biogen, and Dicerna, discussing partnerships in the oligo and mRNA CDMO businesses.

An ST Pharm official stated, "By April this year, we secured six new oligo projects including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and chronic hepatitis B, and the cumulative order amount related to mRNA has reached 25 billion KRW, showing significant achievements since the presentation at the European TIDES conference last November. Through partnering meetings with global companies this time, various business collaborations related to oligo and mRNA CDMO are expected."

Meanwhile, ST Pharm is investing 150 billion KRW to construct the second oligo building and expand production facilities. Upon completion at the end of 2025, the production capacity for oligonucleotide therapeutics will increase from the current 2 moles (approximately 330 kg to 1 ton annually) to 14 moles (approximately 2.3 to 7 tons annually).