Chong Kun Dang Bio announced on March 10 that it has recently signed a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) contract with biotech startup EnhancedBio for production of the key material for engineered ionizable lipid nanoparticle (EN-LNP) technology. 

EN-LNP is a technology for targeted delivery of RNA therapeutics into different types of cells in the liver. It was developed and patented by a team led by Professor Lee Hyuk-jin of College of Pharmacy at Ewha Womans University. The team transferred the technology to EnhancedBio. 

The material that Chong Kun Dang Bio will produce is a core substance for EN-LNP.  It is a general-purpose material that can be applied to various fields such as messenger RNA (mRNA), small interfering RNA (siRNA), and CRISPR, which is a technology that can be used to edit genes. Its advantage is that it can deliver RNA therapeutics to specific cells. 

Under this contract, Chong Kun Dang Bio will be in charge of producing and supplying ionizable lipids exclusively for 10 years. EnhancedBio plans to develop an siRNA cancer treatment using the ionizable lipid from Chong Kun Dang Bio. 

“The importance of the LNP platform technology has been proved through COVID-19 mRNA vaccines,” said Lee Jung-jin, CEO of Chong Kun Dang Bio. “The scope of its applications is gradually growing. This contract is quite meaningful in that Chong Kun Dang Bio has taken its first step into the field of gene therapy.” 

[2022-03-11 BusinessKOREA]