"Targeting Only Lung Cancer Cells"…'Top-Class' New Antibody Anticancer Drug Development Accelerates

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute Develops Candidate Substance and Signs Technology Transfer Contract
Simultaneous Clinical Trials and New Drug Development Initiated in Both Korea and the US

Researchers at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute hold the 'TM4SF4 Antibody Anticancer Drug Candidate.' Photo by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Domestic researchers have developed a new antibody anticancer drug candidate that can selectively treat cancer cells without side effects.

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute announced on the 14th that after discovering that a protein component called TM4SF4 (tee-em-fo-es-ef-four) is closely related to the proliferation of lung cancer cells, it developed a ‘TM4SF4 antibody anticancer drug candidate’ that can inhibit it and transferred the technology to a private company in the United States.

Developing new drugs to treat cancer is one of the greatest challenges in human medical technology. Commonly used targeted drug therapies or radiation therapies may not be effective if patients develop resistance to drugs or radiation. In contrast, antibody anticancer therapies attract attention because they react with antigens to treat only cancer cells. However, since there are still not many antigens that can be used as targets for cancer cells, research to discover new cancer antigens and develop antibodies against them is actively underway worldwide.

The research team identified that TM4SF4, present on the surface of cancer stem cells, is involved in the growth and metastasis of lung cancer and particularly induces resistance to radiation therapy. To inhibit the effects of TM4SF4, they produced mouse monoclonal antibodies based on specific antigens of TM4SF4 that can be mass-produced. They succeeded in converting these into humanized antibodies to create a ‘TM4SF4 antibody anticancer drug candidate’ without immune rejection.

The ‘TM4SF4 antibody anticancer drug candidate’ developed by the research team targets cancer stem cells and treats only cancer cells. At the same time, it functions as a sensitizer that helps cancer cells respond more than 50% better to radiation therapy, which was confirmed through experiments. The research team plans to develop new cancer treatments using these research results in collaboration with the technology transfer company. They have already completed domestic and international patent applications and registrations in 2014 and 2020, and the technology related to humanized antibody production was jointly patented earlier this year with Professor Ryu Chun-je of Sejong University.

Preclinical and clinical trials for the drug candidate will be conducted in Korea and the United States. The institute will support the development of all technologies required for obtaining pharmaceutical approval. Additionally, a research agreement worth 1.5 billion KRW is being prepared for further R&D on the target patented technology.

Director Park Won-seok said, "This technology is the first drug development-related technology transfer achieved in the radiation technology field of the Atomic Energy Research Institute," and added, "We expect to succeed in developing a best-in-class new drug using the candidate substance."

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