HK Innoen-GC Cell, Joint Research and Development Collaboration on Cell Therapy

Kwak Dal-won, CEO of HK Innoen, and Park Dae-woo, CEO of GC Cell (from left in the photo), signed a joint research and development agreement for cell therapy products on the 30th of last month and are taking a commemorative photo.

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] HK Innoen and GC Cell (GCsel) are collaborating to jointly develop next-generation cell therapies.

HK Innoen and GCsel announced on the 4th that they signed a joint research and development contract for cell therapies on the 30th of last month at HK Innoen's Seoul office in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Going forward, the two companies plan to develop immuno-oncology cell therapies that work effectively against solid tumors by utilizing a platform based on the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G target. HK Innoen will develop chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies incorporating fragments of HLA-G target antibodies, while GCsel will develop CAR-NK cell therapies using the same antibody fragments.

Through this collaboration, the two companies aim to expand the development scope of next-generation cell therapies based on their core technologies, which is expected to further strengthen their technological competitiveness. HK Innoen previously initiated exploratory research applying fragments of HLA-G target antibodies to cell therapies and obtained positive results in early CAR-T studies evaluating efficacy at the cellular level. HK Innoen plans to continuously expand its immuno-oncology cell therapy pipeline. GCsel plans to expand its existing solid tumor pipeline by combining NK cell therapy technology, which it has successfully licensed to Artiva (USA) and MSD (Merck, USA), with HLA-G target antibodies. They will sequentially verify the applicability and efficacy of CAR-NK therapies going forward.

HLA-G is an immune checkpoint factor involved in immune responses in the human body. When overexpressed in cancer cells, it is considered one of the main culprits that disrupt the immune system. Therefore, it is attracting attention as an alternative target for tumors that do not respond to existing immuno-oncology drugs during anticancer drug development.

Won Sung-yong, Director (Executive Director) of the Bio Research Institute at HK Innoen, said, “We currently have multiple pipelines including CAR-T, CAR-NK cell therapies, and NK cells through our own research and joint research with overseas companies. Through this joint research and development contract with GCsel, we expect to rapidly secure cell therapy pipelines while further enhancing our research capabilities.” Min Bo-kyung, Director of Cell Therapy Research Institute at GCsel, also stated, “Through open innovation, we look forward to developing therapies with high efficacy and safety in the unexplored field of solid tumors for cell therapies.”