Cellivery "Received Final Candidate Request for Nucleic Acid Therapeutics from Global Pharmaceutical Companies"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Cellivery announced on the 9th that it has received 25 candidate substances for the development of RNA-based gene interference pharmacological material antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) new drugs from the global pharmaceutical company Daiichi-Sankyo under a material transfer agreement and licensing-based verification test contract (MTA/FSA).

RNA-based nucleic acid therapeutics, including antisense oligonucleotide ASOs, artificially regulate the action of RNA to promote or inhibit the expression of specific genes. Unlike existing biopharmaceuticals that act on proteins, these regulate the stage before protein synthesis, emerging as a new therapeutic alternative for severe chronic diseases and rare diseases that are impossible with existing technologies.

A company official stated, "For the final selection test to confirm gene interference antisense oligonucleotide ASO therapeutics for unknown diseases, Cellivery transferred 25 types of third-generation hydrophobic cell membrane-permeable peptides aMTD to Daiichi-Sankyo in August under a material transfer agreement (MTA)." He added, "Daiichi-Sankyo synthesized 25 antisense oligonucleotide candidate substances fused with Cellivery's aMTD, called aMTD-ASO, and transferred the materials back to Cellivery." He further explained, "Among these, the 'new drug candidate derivation test' was commissioned to select the final candidate substance with the best cell permeability, material safety, and gene regulation efficacy."

The candidate substance derivation test involves verifying the cell permeability and specific gene knockdown activity of 25 types of aMTD-ASO using human brain cancer and lung cancer cells provided by Daiichi-Sankyo. Through this, the most effective aMTD-ASO therapeutic will be ultimately derived. Although the period is not specified, the company explained that they have already synthesized several aMTD-ASOs and optimized the test protocol, expecting the process to take about 2 to 3 weeks.

CEO Daewoong Cho said, "Although the success probability is high, many innovative new drug substances struggle to be developed as new drugs because they are not deeply delivered into biological tissues and inside cells. Our TSDT platform technology can greatly contribute to this." He added, "We expect significant ripple effects in the RNA-based nucleic acid therapeutic market endowed with cell-to-cell transfer capability through the application of the TSDT platform."

He continued, "Joint development with Daiichi-Sankyo is progressing successfully, and it could lead not only to the current antisense oligonucleotide ASO therapeutic field but also to a non-exclusive licensing contract for the TSDT platform technology itself." He said, "The TSDT platform technology of Cellivery will be applied through continuous contracts not only to nucleic acid-based new drugs including antisense oligonucleotide ASOs but also to various pharmacological substances such as recombinant proteins, peptides, and antibody therapeutics," adding, "Ultimately, we are doing our best to achieve a major technology licensing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.