HK Inno.N Signs CMO Agreement for Exosome Therapeutic Cell Line

HK Innoen announced on the 31st that it has signed a contract for the contract manufacturing organization (CMO) of cell lines for exosome therapeutics derived from stem cells with Brexogen, a company specializing in exosome therapeutics.

Wonsung Yong, Head of Bio Research at HK Innoen (left), and Soo Kim, CEO of Brexogen, are posing for a commemorative photo at the contract signing ceremony for the contract manufacturing organization (CMO) of exosome therapeutic cell lines.
[Photo by HK Innoen]

This contract is a result following the memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies in April. HK Innoen will produce the cell lines for Brexogen’s myocardial infarction treatment 'BRE-MI01' and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) treatment 'BRE-NA01'. The contract amount and production scale will remain confidential according to the terms agreed upon by both parties.

The cell line CMO will be conducted at HK Innoen’s Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Center in Hanam-si, Gyeonggi Province. The plan is to produce cell lines with secured homogeneity along with cell line characteristic analysis. Cell lines are collections of cells that can be continuously cultured outside the body, and to develop them into pharmaceuticals, production in GMP facilities with strict quality control systems is necessary. Brexogen plans to extract nano-sized exosomes from the cell lines produced by HK Innoen and utilize them for the preclinical and clinical development of BRE-MI01 and BRE-NA01.

According to Brexogen, the currently developing BRE-MI01 has shown mechanisms that reduce early possible rejection reactions, promote sufficient blood flow supply, and distribute evenly within cardiac tissue to restore heart function. BRE-NA01 has been confirmed to regenerate the liver by not only regulating liver inflammation and fibrosis but also suppressing liver tissue damage and promoting the recovery of cells constituting the damaged liver tissue.

Won Sung-yong, Director (Executive Director) of HK Innoen’s Bio Research Institute, expressed his ambition, saying, “In addition to this CMO contract, we will create various collaboration cases utilizing our cell therapy center.” Kim Soo, CEO of Brexogen, also stated, “Starting with this CMO contract between the two companies, we hope to continue development collaborations on various exosome therapeutic pipelines discovered through Brexogen’s ‘BG-Platform.’”