Kangstem Biotech is accelerating its global expansion by signing a contract with a major pharmaceutical company to evaluate drugs for skin immune disorders using organoid technology.
The company announced on Monday that it has entered into a joint research agreement with a global pharmaceutical giant to assess the efficacy and mechanism of action of new drug candidates for skin immune diseases using organoids.
This contract involves preliminary research to evaluate the effectiveness and development potential of skin immune disorder treatment candidates being developed by the global pharmaceutical company, utilizing Kangstem Biotech’s organoid platform.
The company emphasized the significance of this agreement, particularly as it follows a Material Transfer and Evaluation Agreement (MTEA) signed with another major global pharmaceutical firm in July.
In this study, Kangstem Biotech will use skin immune disorder organoid models to assess the anti-inflammatory effects, skin barrier restoration abilities, and tissue-level responses of the drug candidates.
The company’s organoid platform uniquely simulates the actual environment of skin immune disorders, allowing for tissue-level verification of candidate responses. Kangstem Biotech anticipates that this platform will complement existing cell experiments and animal models, aiding in the prediction of clinical outcomes for new drug candidates.
Dr. Kang Kyung-sun, founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Kangstem Biotech, stated that this collaboration underscores the global recognition of our skin organoid technology’s originality, technical prowess, and potential for standardization in commercialization. It aims to leverage this partnership to expand the research and development (R&D) and business collaborations with global pharmaceutical companies.
The potential for future collaboration exists beyond this initial agreement. Kangstem Biotech revealed that both parties have already discussed key terms for expanding the evaluation to include additional drug candidates from the partner company, pending the results of the current assessment.
A spokesperson for Kangstem Biotech explained that this agreement represents a critical step in having our internally validated skin disease organoid technology re-evaluated against global pharmaceutical standards. Positive results could lead to repeated efficacy assessments and long-term collaborations across multiple drug candidates.
The spokesperson added that they’re actively pursuing global partnerships in various areas, including the osteoarthritis treatment OSCA and skin and hair follicle organoids. The goal is to continually expand commercialization efforts and global collaborations across the entire pipeline.
In related news, Kangstem Biotech recently reported promising results from the Phase 2a clinical trial of OSCA, their stem cell therapy for knee osteoarthritis. The trial demonstrated improvements in pain and joint function, as well as potential cartilage structure enhancement.
OSCA, a novel treatment candidate, combines allogeneic umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells with acellular cartilage matrix. Administered via intra-articular injection, it aims to reduce pain and inflammation while improving joint function. Kangstem Biotech is developing OSCA as a disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD), targeting not just pain relief but also structural regeneration of cartilage and subchondral bone.
