BIOnSYSTEMS’ new immunotherapy candidate BNS001 has been selected for government support for the second national new drug development project in 2021, the company said Wednesday.

BNS001 is a dual-function protein immunotherapy candidate, in which “mutant-type Fc” with better durability in the blood is fused with an immune checkpoint inhibitor and cytokine.

The drug’s mechanism blocks the inhibition of immune cell activity with immune checkpoint proteins and simultaneously activates immune cells with cytokines to kill tumor cells.

BIOnSYSTEMS said it confirmed the superior efficacy of BNS001 compared to the control drug in a test on mice for colon cancer and lung cancer and aimed to develop it as a new drug candidate.

Under the support of the Korea Drug Development Fund, BIOnSYSTEMS will evaluate the efficacy and safety of BNS001, study its mechanism of action, and develop a product cell line for the next 24 months.

BIOnSYSTEMS started providing biopharmaceutical analysis services in 2009. With a quality protein characterization system, the company offers various analyses required to develop protein drugs such as antibodies.

Since 2018, the company has pursued differentiated biopharmaceutical drug development by combining a big data-based drug discovery platform, a long-acting Fc platform in blood, and a protein characterization platform.

The company is also working on multifunctional Fc fusion immunotherapy pipelines to target intractable carcinomas. The company attracted 15 billion won ($12.6 million) funds for the development of immunotherapy and applied for two substance patents this year.