Algenomics Joins National Research Hospital Project for 'Heart Disease Therapy Development'

Aiming to Establish a Platform for Gene Therapy Verification and Clinical Application

Algenomics, a company specializing in the development of gene therapy products, announced on January 5 that it will participate in the "Korea-U.S. Innovation Outcome Creation R&D (Research and Development)" project, which is supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Algenomics

The Korea-U.S. Innovation Outcome Creation R&D project is a national research and development initiative aimed at producing clinical-based innovative research outcomes through international joint research between domestic research-oriented hospitals and research-oriented hospitals and institutions in the United States. It focuses on supporting the early acquisition of advanced technologies and the creation of business outcomes in key healthcare sectors, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, regenerative medicine, and digital health.

Algenomics will participate from 2026, the second year of the project, in the ongoing project to verify and utilize disease models based on cardiac organoid chips, which is being conducted by Asan Medical Center, Konkuk University, Sejong University, and Harvard Medical School. The domestic research team includes Lee Sangun, Professor of Cardiology at Asan Medical Center and project leader; Kim Siyoon, Professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Konkuk University and an expert in alternative biotesting and tissue engineering; and Lee Kilyong, Professor at the Department of Bio-Convergence at Sejong University. In the United States, William Pu, a pediatric cardiology expert at Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital, and Kevin Kit Parker are participating. The project will receive a total of 7 billion won in government funding over three years, with the goal of establishing a gene therapy verification and clinical application platform using patient-derived cell-based personalized disease models.

Through this project, Algenomics plans to identify new pipelines using its platform technology and, by leveraging data accumulated by research-oriented hospitals and the research capabilities of domestic and international partner institutions, establish a foundation for discovering new therapeutic targets and advancing into global clinical trials and technology transfer in the future.

An Algenomics representative stated, "With this Korea-U.S. Innovation Outcome Creation R&D project as an opportunity, we will expand exchanges and strategic cooperation with domestic and international research institutions."