[Click eStock] "S-Biomedics Invests in World-Class Single Cell Therapy Manufacturing Facility"

Mirae Asset Securities announced on December 5 that S-Biomedics has published research results on its key pipeline, 'TED-A9,' in the journal 'Cell.'

Seo Mihwa, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "TED-A9 is a dopamine precursor cell therapy derived from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) currently being developed for Parkinson's disease." She added, "Interim one-year results from the Phase 1/2a clinical trial were presented at the AD/PD 2025 conference, and the study was published in the journal Cell in October."

She continued, "The clinical results confirm the potential and early safety of ESC-based cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, as well as their potential to improve symptoms." She added, "Based on these findings, follow-up expansion studies will be conducted to verify long-term safety, including tumorigenicity, long-term survival, and functional assessment."

She stated, "S-Biomedics held an official meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 21," and added, "The company aims to submit an IND for Phase 3 clinical trials next year after preparing additional materials."

Furthermore, she noted, "BlueRock Therapeutics in the United States, which is developing a similar platform for the same indication, announced plans to enter Phase 3 trials based on Phase 1 data released in January this year." She added, "The company initiated its Phase 3 clinical trial in June, just five months later."

Seo predicted, "The 24-month data for S-Biomedics' TED-A9 is expected to be released in the first half of next year," and added, "It will then be possible to conduct comparative analyses with BlueRock Therapeutics' existing clinical results."

She noted, "In May this year, S-Biomedics announced plans to invest in the construction of a new GMP facility in Paju, Gyeonggi Province." She explained, "The new plant will have approximately four times the production capacity of the company's headquarters in Seongsu-dong." She added, "It is being designed as an advanced manufacturing environment that meets the U.S. FDA's cGMP standards." She continued, "With global clinical trials and regulatory strategies in mind, the facility will implement advanced process management technologies, including consistent cell processing, an automated culture environment control system, and real-time quality monitoring."

Seo emphasized, "Even as a single cell therapy manufacturing facility, it will have one of the largest global production capacities." She added, "Based on the strategic partnership signed with Thermo Fisher Scientific in April this year, the company is introducing world-class manufacturing processes and quality management infrastructure."

She explained, "One of the core functions of the new plant is the establishment of the master cell bank (MCB) and working cell bank (WCB) for TED-A9." She continued, "The production from MCB to WCB, which is one of the most critical steps in the TED-A9 manufacturing process, will be carried out at the Paju facility." She added, "Final drug product (DP) production from the WCB will be conducted in the United States (Catalent)." She introduced this as "a new cell therapy manufacturing model that has not yet been attempted in Korea, linking domestic and overseas production systems."

Seo assessed this as a strategic approach to continuously secure domestic production capabilities even after entering the global market.