'Devoted to Cancer Drug Development' Bupijin CEO Gubongseong: "New Concept mRNA Immuno-Oncology Drug, Clinical Trials Targeted This Year"

'mRNA' Famous for COVID-19 Vaccines
Used in Cancer Treatment Development
Based on 3 Patent Technologies
High Precision in Killing Only Cancer Cells
Applicable to All Solid Tumors
Accelerating Development of New Broad-Spectrum Anti-Cancer Drugs
Universal COVID-19 Vaccine Also in Development

Gubongseong, CEO of BPgene.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] "Our biggest goal is to bring a new concept messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) metabolic anticancer agent into clinical stages within this year."

COVID-19 has served as an opportunity to widely introduce unfamiliar medical and life science terms to the general public. A representative example is mRNA. While it is now famous for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the applications of mRNA are actually limitless. This is because it can function as a kind of ‘platform’ that works for treating diseases simply by inputting the genetic information of pathogens.

"Cancer Cell Death with High Precision"

Goo Bong-seong, CEO of BPgene, has long focused on mRNA for cancer treatment development. Since 2014, he has researched mRNA metabolic anticancer agents, and after many trials and tribulations, BPgene succeeded in acquiring three core technologies. These include mRNA capable of inhibiting cancer cell metabolism, lipid nanoparticle (LNP) manufacturing technology for delivery, and a substance with 900 times higher ability to target cancer than existing antibodies. This technology obtained a domestic patent in August 2020 and an international patent in September last year. CEO Goo stated, "We take great pride in having developed all these technologies independently," emphasizing, "Based on this technology, we can create drugs that selectively kill cancer cells with higher precision than other anticancer agents."

Metabolic anticancer agents are spotlighted as next-generation cancer treatments, but skeptical views also exist. The basic principle of metabolic anticancer agents is to inhibit cancer cell metabolism by exploiting the universal characteristic of ‘metabolic instability’ unique to cancer cells. The problem is that existing metabolic anticancer agents suppress cancer by ‘starving’ them through blocking nutrient supply, making it difficult for the drugs to be effective if cancer cells metastasize by developing alternative metabolic pathways.

BPJIN CI.

"Developing New Drugs Applicable to All Solid Tumors"

BPgene’s mRNA has opened a way to solve this problem. It lowers the balance of ‘nucleic acids’ within cancer cells, causing them to self-destruct. This was made possible by a gene sequence discovered for the first time in the world by CEO Goo and his research team. Goo explained, "Deep inside cancer cells, there is always a consistently maintained nucleic acid balance, and by disrupting this balance, we fundamentally inhibit cell growth and induce cell death," adding, "This structure can prevent mutations and maximize drug efficacy." When combined with technology that targets cancer cells with about 900 times greater precision than existing treatments, a therapeutic agent that inhibits metabolism by targeting cancer cells can be developed.

BPgene plans to start with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), known as the most difficult to treat among breast cancers, then expand indications to colorectal cancer, lung cancer, brain tumors, and ultimately develop metabolic anticancer new drugs applicable to all solid tumors. The strength of mRNA is also utilized here. Since all use the same platform, only slight variations in clinical trials are needed. CEO Goo said, "We are currently conducting preclinical trials to enter clinical stages," and added, "Our goal is to start clinical trials for at least two to three types of cancer within this year."

Developing COVID-19 and Influenza Combo Vaccine

Another key area for BPgene is vaccines. They are developing a universal COVID-19 and influenza ‘combo’ vaccine applicable to all coronaviruses using mRNA. Currently, they are collaborating with domestic and international researchers to discover antigens, aiming to enter clinical trials next year. Recently acquired by Boryung Biopharma, BPgene expects synergy effects with Boryung Biopharma’s infrastructure. CEO Goo said, "By combining the production and sales lines, regulatory know-how of our parent company Boryung Biopharma with BPgene’s technology, we will do our best to achieve results as quickly as possible."

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