Daewoong Pharmaceutical said on Thursday that they signed a contract with Oncorus, a U.S. bioventure that develops next-generation RNA-based immunotherapies, for the joint development and commercialization of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) mRNA drugs.

Through this contract, the two companies plan to develop intravenous treatments by finding formulations optimized for Daewoong Pharmaceutical's mRNA anticancer drug using Oncorus' LNP platform. 

Oncorus will be responsible for the manufacture, production, and optimization of LNP formulations at a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Massachusetts, the U.S., while Daewoong will conduct clinical processes and commercialization, including non-clinical development.

A lipid nanoparticle (LNP) refers to a lipid particle having a size of about 100 nanometers. It can load organic molecular drugs, peptides, proteins, and mRNA for release into specific target cells. Meanwhile, messenger ribonucleic acid, better known as mRNA, is a compound in which genetic information encoded in DNA is transcribed, and via in vitro transcription, mRNA treatments can be manufactured quickly and flexibly for a variety of diseases.

Oncorus’ flagship pipeline, ONCR-021, is an intravenous RNA treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The company also developed other RNA cancer therapy candidates that have completed preclinical trials and plan to apply to the FDA this year.

While existing LNP formulations can sometimes have complications during the intravenous administration of RNA and nucleic acid-based drugs, Oncorus’ independent LNP platform is known to have improved drug resistance, enhanced treatment coverage, and stable pharmacokinetic characteristics, according to the company. Through this, it is expected that it will be possible to develop a new mRNA treatment that can overcome the limitations of existing LNP technology.

"We are pleased to partner with Daewoong Pharmaceutical to develop a new LNP formulation for their mRNA treatments,” said Oncorus CEO Theodore Ashburn.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical CEO Jeon Seng-ho said, "By utilizing Oncorus' LNP platform, we can explore new possibilities in the development of mRNA anticancer drugs and will contribute to improving the quality of life of patients through this cooperation.”