Kangstem Biotech said on Wednesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with P&K Skin Clinical Research Center to conduct joint research for the development of a skin organoid-based drug efficacy evaluation platform.

Under the accord, the two companies plan to develop a platform technology for evaluating the effectiveness of hair loss and aging inhibitors. This includes manufacturing skin organoids for clinical research alternatives and a validation platform for substances that promote hair growth and suppress hair loss and aging.

Through a joint study with Seoul National University, Kangstem Biotech created the “world's first” skin organoid derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, the company said.

The model contains most cells and tissues expressed in normal skin tissues. It can examine hair loss by structurally and functionally reproducing hair follicle tissues that could not be investigated in conventional artificial skin.

Additionally, existing efficacy evaluation systems are only able to demonstrate a fragmented mechanism of action and efficacy of the investigational substance. 

However, the skin organoid-based efficacy evaluation platform will be able to confirm the complex interaction between drugs and the human skin environment, the company said.

Kangstem Biotech expects efficacy can be predicted with reliability similar to that of clinical trials.

P&K is a Korean institution for skin and human body application testing, conducting efficacy and functional testing services for various products such as cosmetics raw materials, functional cosmetics, health functional foods, and pharmaceutical products.

"Through this business agreement, we expect our unique skin organoid production technology together with P&K's high-quality test service development capability to help bring new hair loss and age suppression substances to the market," said Kangstem Biotech CEO Na Jong-cheon.