InventageLab and U-Bio Join Forces to Enter LNP CDMO Business

InventiGELAB, a company specializing in long-acting injectable drugs and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) research, development, and manufacturing platforms, announced on the 16th that it has signed a contract for a joint contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business with UbioLogics for LNP production.

Kim Joo-hee, CEO of Inventage Lab, and Baek Young-ok, CEO of U-Biologics (third from the left), are posing for a commemorative photo at the LNP CMO joint commercialization contract signing ceremony. Photo by Inventage Lab

LNP is a drug delivery system (DDS) that stably protects unstable genetic materials such as messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and gene therapies while effectively delivering them inside cells. Recently, its efficacy has been extensively validated through COVID-19 vaccines, and the technology is expanding not only in vaccines but also in the development of cell and gene therapies (CGT). Currently, it is known that more than 2,000 LNP-related new drug pipelines are in the development stage worldwide, and the demand for contract manufacturing (CMO) for clinical trial drug production and commercial mass production is expected to increase explosively in the future.

Accordingly, the two companies plan to share roles and jointly promote the CDMO business through this contract. InventiGELAB will be responsible for formulation development and non-clinical trial drug production using IVL-GeneFluidic technology based on microfluidics, and will provide UbioLogics with equipment and systems that implement LNP and liposome formulation and manufacturing process for clinical trial drugs and commercial production. UbioLogics will produce clinical-stage LNP trial drugs at its own excellent Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facilities. Through this joint business, it is expected that they will be able to enter the rapidly growing domestic and international contract manufacturing market for non-clinical and clinical trial LNP therapeutics.

Kim Joo-hee, CEO of InventiGELAB, said, “We are very excited to start a CDMO joint business project for LNP and liposomes with UbioLogics, which has secured advanced country-standard GMP facilities and operational achievements,” adding, “We will accumulate technology and experience through close collaboration and achieve mutual growth through successful commercialization in the future.” Baek Young-ok, CEO of UbioLogics, also stated, “LNP is a useful technology that has recently attracted attention in the market, with great marketability and growth potential,” and added, “Based on InventiGELAB’s proprietary LNP manufacturing technology and our GMP facilities and CMO experience, we expect to attract many customers domestically and internationally in the future.”