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Rznomics, Selection of national new drug development projects for gene therapy
Rznomics,
trans-splicing ribozyme based gene therapy technology platform company, announced
on the 12th that their innovative new drug treatment, which is being developed
for hereditary retinal pigmentation, was selected as a support project for the
National New Drug Development Project's first "New Drug R&D Ecosystem
Construction Research" in 2022.The
national new drug development project is a pan-ministerial national R&D
project, which is promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of
Trade, Industry and Welfare, and has been supporting the whole cycle of new
drug development since 2021 with the goal of strengthening global
competitiveness of the national pharmaceutical and bio industries.Rznomics'
selected research on building a national new R&D ecosystem is a task to
support candidate materials and non-clinical stages, and this selection will
receive a total of KRW 2 billion in national research funds for 22 months with
the goal of non-clinical research and IND approval.Retinal
pigmentation is a blindness disease that occurs in one out of every 4,000 to
5,000 people worldwide and loses central vision due to abnormal photoreceptor
cells distributed in the retina.Up
to now, there is no fundamental treatment method, and it has relied on some
adjuvant treatments that prevent vision from being damaged by ultraviolet rays
or slow vision loss by taking nutritional supplements.The
cause of retinal pigmentation is a defect in the genes involved in the
mechanism of converting light into electrical signals in visual cells.Among
several gene mutations, mutations in the RHO gene are known to be the most
common form of mutations in the disease, accounting for 20 to 30% of autosomal
dominant retinal pigmentation.The
progress rapidity of vision damage depends on individual, but it usually starts
with night blindness, gradually narrowing the field of vision, and losing the
central field of vision, leading to complete blindness.The
treatment under development by Rznomics is an RNA-based gene therapy that is
being developed for a single administration, and it is expected that the
disease can be fundamentally treated by replacing the mutant RHO gene with the
normal RHO gene using "Trans-splicing ribozyme" technology, which
removes and corrects the mutant gene.Dr.
Ji-hyun, Kim who was selected as the research director of the project, said,
"Rznomics' platform technology, which has accumulated technology for a long
period of time, has been recognized for its excellence, and we will do our best
to approve IND with the goal of clinical progress."Seong-wook,
Lee, CEO of Rznomics, said, "This is the second national new drug project
since the development of Rett’s syndrome treatment was selected as a national
new drug project at the end of last year, and it is believed to be a good
example of new drug development as a bio-venture in Korea."2022-05-24 -
51 Top BioPharma Startups & Companies (South Korea)
Rznomics Inc. has been listed in the '51 Top BioPharma Startups & Companies (South Korea)' by Biopharma.Please refer to the link for the full list.
2022-05-23 -
[Press released] [K Startup Industry Map] bio-healthcare Industry
[K Startup Industry Map] bio-healthcare IndustryJust
a few years ago, the bio-healthcare industry was considered a new growth engine
to feed Korea.
If
only the modifier "Bio" was added, the corporate value jumped several
times, and investors came with money.
However,
the market froze hard through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Except
for some fields such as diagnostic kits, the "money line" in the bio
industry has dried up.
This
is because IPO, venture capital (VC) investment, and CB issuance, which are key
funding channels, have been delayed or canceled one after another.Boronoi,
which was expected to be the "Unicorn Special List No. 1" in March,
withdrew its listing due to low demand forecasts, and Ari-bio, a new dementia
drug R&D company, failed in the technology evaluation for Special Listing
of Technology Growth. Mezzion's stock price fell down sharply due to not
approving of Fontan surgery (heart deformity surgery) treatment by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA).This
phenomenon doesn’t happen only in Korea.Since
the pandemic, volatility in the global bio-healthcare sector has continued to
expand. However, it is analyzed that this increase in volatility does not stem
from the damage to fundamentals and growth potential of the bio and healthcare
industries.Analysts
say that investment sentiment has temporarily worsened due to delays in
clinical trials due to COVID-19, interest rate hikes, and falling pipeline
values due to geopolitical risks due to bio companies, whose future value
accounts for most of their corporate value.Actually,
the global new drug development market is expected to grow by 7.5% annually by
2026 and grow to USD 304.3 billion (about KRW 386 trillion).According
to Mirae Asset Securities, the number of clinical trials, a barometer of the
new drug development market, recorded 24,914 cases (excluding COVID-19 clinical
trials) as of 2021.The
digital healthcare market, which has emerged as a future medical system, is
also rapidly expanding.According
to the Korea International Trade Association, the global digital healthcare
market is expected to grow by nearly 30% annually from $106.3 billion (about
135 trillion won) in 2019 to $639.4 billion (about 810 trillion won) in 2026.Fortunately,
as the Yoon Seok-yeol government announced plans to actively foster the bio and
healthcare industries and build infrastructure to support biotechnology fields
such as new drug development, the bio industry is gaining momentum.Bio-healthcare
startups that stand out as they seek to enter overseas markets such as the U.S.
and Europe are also emerging one after another. It introduces bio and healthcare
startups that should be noted.▶ New drug development▷ Rznomics' performance is becoming visibleNew drug development is
the 'flower of the bio industry'. It's not easy, but it's because once you
succeed, you get a huge profit. In particular, as global big pharmaceutical
companies are actively engaged in open innovation such as JV(Joint Venture),
M&A (Merger and Acquisition), licensing, and joint development for new
pipeline transfusions, more opportunities are opening up for new drug
development start-ups.Choong-hyun, Kim, an
analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "Among the top 30 drugs in the
world, 22 have currently expired patents or expired patents. Investment in new
drug development is inevitable for new pipeline transfusions, he said. "It
is an opportunity for domestic bio companies with competitiveness in new drug
development to quantum jump."Cell and gene
therapy is the most notable field in the recent development of new drugs.Rznomics is a
new drug development company based on RNA (ribonucleic acid) established by
Seong-wook, Lee, a professor of bio-convergence at Dankook University in 2017.
It is a mechanism by which RNA replacememt enzymes are used to remove target
RNA that causes disease and generate therapeutic RNA in its place. Therapies
are being developed for liver cancer, glioblastoma, Alzheimer's, and hereditary
retinal pigmentation. In the fourth quarter of 2021, it plans to apply for
domestic and U.S. IND (clinical test plan) and enter clinical trials from 2023.(Extract from the original article)2022-05-10 -
[Press released] Rznomics, is accelerating Development of new circular RNA structure technology
Rznomics
announced on the 28th that it has won consecutive orders from the Korea Patent
and Strategy Development Institute for IP-R&D Strategy Support Project in
response to infectious diseases and the Korea Research Foundation's "2022
Basic Technology Development Project for next-generation vaccines.Rznomics
said it has been recognized for its technology for the company's new circular
ribonucleic acid (RNA) structure platform.According
to the company, the circular RNA structure was developed to allow self-circularization
to occur during transcriptional reactions in vitro. In addition, it is more
stable than messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), which is a linear structure, so
its efficacy lasts for a long time. It is expected to be applied to various
fields including vaccines and therapies."It
is an independent platform technology that can overcome patent issues of mRNA therapy
and vaccine technologies," said Seong-wook, Lee, CEO of Rznomics.
"Through cooperative research with groups which has delivery technology,
we will optimize it to be applied to various fields such as RNA vaccines and therapy."2022-04-29 -
[Press released] RNA liver cancer therapy company Rznomics, is preparing for IPO
Rznomics,
a new drug developer of "RNA replacement," has begun preemptive
preparations for listing next year. It has begun to take concrete steps such as
recruiting CFO, a former accountant, to establish an internal system and apply
for a designated auditor for listing.Seong-wook,
Lee, CEO of Rznomics, said on the 19th, "We applied to the Financial
Supervisory Service for an IPO designation audit in March this year and
selected Samil Accounting Corporation as an advisor to set new accounting
standards at the level of listed companies, and we are planning to take a technology
evaluation for Special Listing of Technology Growth for IPO in next year."
Rznomics appointed Samsung Securities as a lead manager for IPO.Rznomics
was founded in August 2017 by Seong-wook, Lee, a professor of bio-convergence
at Dankook University. CEO Lee is a Ph.D. in molecular genetics at Cornell
University in the U.S. and has led research on the next-generation RNA
replacement enzyme platform for the past 20 years.The
company raised KRW 12 billion in Series A in September 2019 and KRW 10.5
billion in Series B in April 2021. Major Financial Investors include Synergy IB
Investment, LSK Investment, Partners Investment, Quad Asset Management, Korea
Development Bank, and SBI Investment and so on.Preparations
for IPO began in earnest after Jong-sun, Rim, a former certified public accountant,
recruited former Caregen CFO in September last year.CFO
Rim spent 13 years at Samil Accounting Corporation after studying business
administration at Soongsil University. He worked at Samil's global audit
headquarters' and has a career of secondment Shanghai branch in PwC China.Just
before joining Rznomics, he was CFO at KOSDAQ Bio company Caregen and took in
charge of internal accounting management for about two years.Regarding
technology evaluation and IPO, CFO Rim said, "Rznomics plans to flexibly
respond to the situation so that it can be the best time for Rznomics."Rznomics
is currently procuring Series C worth more than KRW 30 billion. It is to raise
funds to enter the clinical trial of "RZ-001 (candidate substance for
liver cancer therapy)." More than KRW 30 billion is expected to be injected
in capital in May.2022-04-20 -
Rznomics aims for Korea's first clinical trial of RNA anticancer drug
Rznomics' 'trans-splicing ribozyme' technology was introduced in the March 2022 issue of magazine.Thank you for your support.<Source>Hankyung BioInsight
2022-03-28 -
[Press released] Cha Vaccine Institute and Rznomics jointly develop next-generation RNA vaccines
Rznomics, Non-linear RNA Structure
Platform company, apply the Lipo-pam™ delivery from Cha Vaccine Institute Rznomics announced on the 9th that
it has signed an "agreement for joint development of next-generation
vaccines" based on the next-generation RNA platform with Cha Vaccine
Institute, an affiliate of Cha Biotech. Based on this agreement, Rznomics and
Cha Vaccine Institute will jointly research and develop next-generation RNA
vaccines, and will also cooperate for the exchange of physical and human
resources necessary for the development process.. The RNA vaccine developed by the two
companies this time is the next-generation technology of the mRNA vaccine
currently used in the COVID-19 vaccine. The company explained that the
next-generation RNA vaccine is based on a non-linear RNA structure and has the
advantage of long-lasting efficacy due to its high stability compared to the
linear mRNA vaccine. The Cha Vaccine Institute first
selects a target disease to be applied to the vaccine and designs an antigen
accordingly. Rznomics is in charge of producing, optimizing, manufacturing, and
processing RNA vaccines that express antigens designed by Cha Vaccine Institute
based on its own nonlinear RNA structure platform. The Cha Vaccine Institute
uses "Lipo-pam™" as a delivery material for RNA vaccines to
non-clinically study vaccines and derive vaccine candidate substances. The Cha Vaccine Institute has
developed its own immune enhancers L-pampo™ and Lipo-pam™, which are necessary
for the manufacture of recombinant protein vaccines. Based on this, clinical
development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines for infectious diseases such
as hepatitis B and shingles is underway, and pipelines are being expanded to
anti-cancer vaccines and immuno-cancer drugs. Rznomics is an RNA-based new drug
developer. The core technology is developing therapies for anticancer drugs,
degenerative diseases, and genetic diseases based on the mechanism of editing
target RNA that causes diseases with trans-Ribozyme and replacing the cut part
with other treatment RNA at the same time. It also has its own nonlinear RNA
structure platform technology. Jung-sun, Yeom, CEO of Cha Vaccine
Institute, said, "As the two companies with their own unique technologies
cooperate, the development of next-generation vaccine platforms and new
pipelines using them will be smoother. Through this MOU, Cha Vaccine Institute
will also expand its business area to new areas such as RNA vaccines. "We expect this collaboration
to accelerate the development of next-generation vaccines based on our new RNA
structure technology," said Seong-wook, Lee, CEO of Rznomics. "We
will prove the versatility, usability, and excellence of Rznomics’ unique RNA
platform technology."2022-02-09 -
[Press released] K-Bio jumps into the global 'RNA new drug war'
Ribonucleic
acid (RNA) treatment, which was an unexplored field, is receiving a lot of
attention from the global pharmaceutical and bio industry. RNA therapy is a
method that blocks the expression of a disease-causing gene. Until recently,
the task of developing an RNA treatment was how to deliver it into cells
because of its large size. However, with the commercialization of the messenger
ribonucleic acid (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine as an opportunity, the problem has
been resolved and development is accelerating.Rznomics
is developing a treatment for liver cancer. It is a treatment that cuts off
target RNA that appears in cancer cells and implants RNA that induces cancer
cell death in its place. At end of last year, the company applied for approval
of phase 1 and 2a clinical trials with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.Rznomics
is jointly developing a treatment for intractable diseases using a
next-generation RNA platform with GC Biopharma. Celltrion is also developing an
mRNA-based anticancer drug with TriLink, an American bio company.The
movement to develop RNA therapeutics is more active overseas than in Korea.
News of cooperation, such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and technology
transfer for RNA therapeutics market, is following one after another. The
announcement of the acquisition of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals by Danish
pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is an example.Novo
Nordisk, the world's 16th largest pharmaceutical company, announced in November
last year that it would acquire Dicerna, a leading RNA company, for $3.3 billion
USD. There are also constant observations that Novartis will acquire Alnylam,
which was the first to receive FDA approval for an RNA treatment.At the
recently held JP Morgan Conference, the world's largest bio-investment event,
the "RNA trend" was clearly visible. Eli Lilly announced its roadmap
to fill 20% of the preclinical pipeline with nucleic acid therapy.Pfizer
and BioNtech, which made a fortune with the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, started
developing a shingles virus vaccine. Moderna has started administering to
patients in a phase 1 clinical trial of the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) vaccine,
which is known to cause cancer. EBV is known to cause lymphoma and gastric
cancer by B cells.2022-01-21 -
[CEO Interview] Attracted billions of investment by developing a gene-based target treatment system for incurable diseases
Meet
Lee Seong-wook, a professor of Department of Biotechnology and Bioengineering
and CEO of Rznomics, who stands out as the CEO of a promising biopharmaceutical
company from an aspiring researcher
“When
I went to study in the United States, my advisor had already finished research
on the viral replication process and started researching gene therapy using viruses
as vector. Participating in these studies, he decided to pursue research in the
field of intractable treatment. In addition, my advisor taught me to always
think about how to develop value in the research in the laboratory, and he
showed the realization of that value through starting a business.
By
maximizing my research in incurable diseases such as cancer can be treated with
minimal damage to normal tissues, and I believed it would be of sufficient
value. And in order to realize the value, from the beginning of R&D I had
the mindset that 'start-up is the way to go'. Maybe it was because I got
insight from the professors who started a business, and also I already have a
student who started a business. After he finished master’s degree in molecular
biology, he went to medical school to become a research doctor, but after
becoming a medical professor, one day, he came to me with a business card stating
CEO.”Professor
Seong-wook Lee (Department of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Graduate
School) from Dankook University obtained a bachelor’s degree in microbiology
from Seoul National University and a doctorate in molecular biology from
Cornell University, USA which he also worked as a postdoctoral researcher. He who
is also the former president of the Korean Society for Gene and Cell Therapy,
compiled the results of his 20 years of research and founded Rznomics.Rznomics
is developing an RNA-based gene therapy using the trans-splicing ribozyme
platform technology. This technology is a platform technology that recognizes
the target site and removes the problematic RNA sequence from this site, and at
the same time connects the RNA that delivers or injects a specific substance to
the target site for the purpose of improving the function of the target. As the
excellence of the technology is spreading widely, Rznomics is attracting large
amounts of investment every year, and plans to list it on the stock market in
the future.
On January 4th, I met Professor
Seong-wook Lee and was able to hear detailed story about the prospects and
goals of Rznomics and the technology.
Q. Congratulations on
becoming a CEO who is attracting attention not only in academia but also in the
biopharmaceutical industry.
All I've done is try
to make sure that valuable technology doe not go dead. What kind of technology
is that? It is a technology that was developed through sweat of researchers
with the support of tax money collected by the government to help cure someone.
Although it has received attention within Korea, Rznomics' goal is to provide
licenses to global biopharmaceutical companies. If you have commercialized the
technology that you have researched for decades, I think you should aim for it
to growth on a global scale. There is still much work to be done to achieve
that goal.
Q. Could you please
explain the trans-splicing ribozyme platform technology that you have been
researching for many years?The key is to inject
a ribozyme into a patient in the form of a DNA vector that removes bad RNA that
causes incurable diseases and substitute it with a good RNA. Ribonucleic acids
that function as enzymes are called ribozymes. Although there are various types
of ribozymes, the ribozyme we have focused on researching and developing
conceptually has the ability to selectively induce the activity of therapeutic
genes in cells expressing therapeutic RNA by editing the target RNA to be
treated with therapeutic RNA. The technology we've been researching is to take
advantage of these functions of ribozymes, and our lab has for 20 years been
focused on optimizing these functions beyond concept to actually have
therapeutic effects. Previous studies have had marginal efficacy or safety
concerns.
I have achieved the
result of developing a ribozyme with therapeutic function in vivo for the first
time by making the therapeutic gene RNA to be expressed only in target diseased
cells (specificity), increasing therapeutic efficacy, and at the same time
improving the safety of the DNA vector.
Q. Why did you choose liver cancer as a target disease for treatment development?Cancer is still one of the most incurable diseases. In the early 2000s, when there was very little public interest in gene therapy, hepato-cancer specialists and researchers were the people who proposed research after hearing about my research field ‘trans-splicing enzyme platform’. As a result of working together with these people and immersing ourselves in the research, the liver cancer-based treatment material optimization was completed. Since it is a target molecular substance for treatment, not a drug composed of chemicals, which it is a platform technology, it has sufficient potential to be applied to all cancers.Currently, research is being conducted to expand indications to glioblastoma of malignant brain tumors and hereditary retinal pigment degeneration. We are also investigating the possibility of using it as a treatment for neurological/cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer's and Rett's syndrome. In particular, the innovative new drug lead material for Rett Syndrome, a hereditary neurodevelopmental disorder that has no underlying treatment, was developed by Rznomics and was recently selected as a governmental new drug development project.
Q. Based on this
technology, you founded Rznomics, as a subsidiary of Dankook University
Industry-University Cooperation Foundation.
Rznomics was founded
in August 2017 as a research company that develops gene therapy products using
RNA substitution enzymes. We are researching with the goal of developing
bio-drugs for cancer/incurable diseases through gene therapy development. In
particular, we are researching a treatment for primary liver cancer, and the
results of the research that specifically kills cancer cells based on the
'trans-conjugated ribozyme' platform for RNA replacement enzymes were published
in the official journal (Molecualr Therapy Nucleic Acids) of the American
Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT). We have applied for clinical approval
to the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety at the end of November last year
for pipeline 'RZ-001' to which this technology has been applied targeting liver
cancer treatment. As it is a field that I have researched for 20 years and
achieved a high level of optimization, I decided that there was a certain
possibility of commercialization, and I was able to start a business without hesitation
because gene therapy is a field where investment is made actively.
Q. It is a field
that is meaningful enough for pure research, but I am curious as to why you
decided to start a business. When I was doing my PhD in Molecular
Biology at Cornell University, my advisor was passionate about starting a
business. 'Developing skills and writing a thesis is important, but you
shouldn't be content with just leaving your name on a few pages of paper. “It
would be even better if we could study the application method that would
actually affect society to the end and start a company based on it.” It was a
time when the biopharmaceutical industry was revitalized in the United States,
and I was aware from an early age that my research could be commercialized
based on the latest research results such as the concept of ribozyme. Eventually,
I started a company when the business plan was materialized for my research on
gene therapy to be injected in the form of a vector based on RNA.
Gene therapy was introduced as a
concept in the 1990s, but it was said that it was impossible to commercialize
it. In the 2010s, developed countries’ authorities began to approve gene
therapy. Since I started my business in 2017, so I guess I tend to adapt well
to the global trend.
Q. Did you have any
difficulties in the early days of going out of the lab and running the company
yourself?
Since it was a company that started
with two students and a school laboratory, of course, in the beginning, we did
not have a lot of money. But we didn't worry too much because we had certainty
in commercializing our research. In 2017, we was selected for a private-led start-up
support project (TIPS) to raise funds for establishment, and with some help from
venture capitals, we were able to receive funds as well as conducting research
projects from government agencies. The research results have been attracting
attention every year, and so far we have been able to attract a total of 23.7
billion KRW of investment. We had difficulties in management, administration,
and legal affairs, but thanks to Dankook University Industry-University
Cooperation Foundation we were provided a lot of help from early stage of the
company in various areas. I would like to extend my gratitude for the support.
Q. What does it
mean for a company started with technology developed in the laboratory to
receive tens of billions of investment?
When a science and engineering
researcher actually start a business, establishes a company, and receives
investment, researchers often joke with each other, saying, “I have crossed a
river of no return.” It is because there is no guarantee that you will be
successful just because you receive an investment, and you cannot be pushed
back just because there is no guarantee of success. However, I have had
experience of starting a small business before, and from this experience, I
personally decided that in order to succeed as a biopharmaceutical company, I
had to build a unique platform technology and a pipeline that can prove the
value of these technologies. Rznomics was founded by trusting our technology as
the preparation process has matured enough. A researcher starts a business
because he thinks his research is great, but an investor makes an objective
judgment and evaluation, so receiving an investment is meaningful. Investors
invest in us because they believe in our company, and the amount of investment
reflects our evaluation.
Q. Established as a research institute on campus, the
company has grown so rapidly that it has received tens of billions of
investment over the past four years. You said that you express your special
thanks to the Dankook Industry-University Cooperation Foundation, and I am
curious as to why.
In the early days of the founding, all members of the company were
researchers. In that situation, you need to distinguish between what you can do
on your own and what you must get help from. One of them is public relations
and external cooperation such as PR, IR, and website production. The
Industry-University Cooperation Foundation, together with the school
headquarters, provided support and provided PR expenses. In addition to the
BRIDGE+ commercialization development cost, Dankook University's technology
holding company also made a direct equity investment in Rznomics. I express my
gratitude once again for sharing our achievements with professors and other
school members at important events.
Q. From the perspective of managing a promising
biopharmaceutical company, would you give advice to researchers who are
preparing for technology commercialization based on university research?I too am still in a starting position, so providing 'advice' would not
be the correct wording. If I dare say, I would like to point out that it is
necessary to diagnose the technology soberly and accurately, and to respect the
area of expertise as much as possible. I recommend that you first get an
objective evaluation of your skills. All the professors are the highest
authority in their field, so I think that the technology developed by them is
also the best technology. However, unlike academic research, commercialization
must directly generate profits. To do this, you need to take a good look at the
industry, see who your competitors are in Korea and in the world, and think
about where your company will stand. If I'm the first, I need to review why
others haven't jumped into it, make sure it's not in an area that's unrelated
to monetization, and there's no catastrophic risk. If I am the best, I need to
diagnose where the technology can be applied and what the revenue will be if it
is applied.
In addition, although a professor may have authority in research or
technology development, but he at the same time can be unfamiliar with
technology research, development for commercialization of actual technology,
and other fields. As the pace of technological development is fast, the first
or best technology is good, but it must be made into a company that has built
an efficient system that can successfully commercialize it with the agility to
present the optimal technology for the purpose at the right time. To do this,
you need to open your mind to recruiting experts in each field or to
collaborate with them. I want you to keep in mind that investment includes not
only R&D expenses, but also personnel expenses and external activity
expenses.2022-01-21
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