Samsung 'Life Science Fund' Invests in Gene Therapy Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The first investment target of the bio venture investment fund 'Life Science Fund' established by Samsung has been decided as the rapidly growing gene therapy market.

The Life Science Fund announced on the 30th that it will invest in 'Jaguar Gene Therapy' to discover innovative technologies and secure competitiveness in the gene therapy market. The Life Science Fund is a bio venture fund worth 150 billion KRW, with Samsung C&T contributing 99 billion KRW, Samsung Biologics investing 49.5 billion KRW, and Samsung Venture Investment Corporation investing 1.5 billion KRW.

Gene therapy technology is evaluated to have a wide range of applications and long-lasting therapeutic effects, leading to rapid growth in the related market and fierce global competition. Jaguar Gene Therapy is a bio venture company specializing in adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy, established in October 2019. It was founded by key researchers who developed the AAV gene therapy spinal muscular atrophy treatment 'Zolgensma'.

Jaguar Gene Therapy's main pipelines include treatments for galactosemia (JAG101), autism related to specific genes (JAG201), and type 1 diabetes (JAG301). Among these, JAG101 and JAG201 have entered the preclinical stage. The company aims to start actual clinical trials next year. Samsung plans to participate as a strategic investor and collaborate with Jaguar Gene Therapy to discover and develop research programs.

According to JP Morgan's report, the global gene therapy market was valued at $5 billion (approximately 6 trillion KRW) last year and is expected to grow rapidly at an average annual rate of 44% to reach $32 billion (approximately 39 trillion KRW) by 2026. Since gene therapy involves injecting genes that produce therapeutic proteins inside cells to treat diseases, it enables various treatments and can be applied to diseases that are untreatable with existing antibody therapies. Additionally, a single injection can provide effects for several years, offering greater dosing convenience compared to existing antibody therapies that require periodic injections.

Among these, AAV gene therapy delivers therapeutic genes encapsulated in AAV vectors into target cells. Jaguar Gene Therapy is recognized for possessing differentiated purification technology that can increase product purity while improving yield. This is expected to overcome side effects caused by high-dose administration, which is considered the biggest drawback of gene therapy.

A representative of the Life Science Fund stated, "Starting with this investment in Jaguar Gene Therapy, we plan to continuously invest in promising technologies and innovative domestic and international venture companies with two goals: 'fostering core global bio technologies' and 'improving quality of life'."

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