Myongji Hospital, CancerRop, and MJ Cellbio signed a joint research and development agreement and declared their “Research-centered hospital bio-innovation 2020" vision, the hospital said Tuesday.
“Myongji Hospital is pursuing to become a next-generation research-oriented hospital, which combines research, development, clinical and biotechnology to a single virtuous cycle platform,” the hospital said. “It is a unique model that is not common in Korea or abroad.”
The hospital has been focusing on the field of cell therapy and IT medical convergence for two years.
“Based on the acquisition of CancerRop by Myongji Hospital Chairman and CEO Lee Wang-jun in 2017 and establishment of MJ Cellbio last year, the hospital has presented its vision for next-generation research-oriented hospitals through the agreement,” the hospital added.
Myongji Hospital's initial strategy for establishing innovative clinical trial platform is to organize a MJ Cellbio lab and cell therapy good manufacturing practice (GMP) facility inside the hospital, as well as providing proof of concept in its core technology, applying innovative clinical medicine design, and claiming the “First in Class” position with related organizations.
The hospital expects to accelerate the procedure through the joint research and development agreement between Myongji Hospital, CancerRop and MJ Cellbio.
Under the accord, the three parties will jointly use research equipment, provide support for the research and commercialization of immune cell therapy products, and exchange researchers.
To help with the process, MJ Cellbio acquired the core technology for CAR-T source technology by concluding a technology transfer agreement with Korea University Industrial-Academic Cooperation Center (KUIACC) and recruiting Bluebird Bio's chief technology officer Lee Baek-seung as its CTO.
Based on the agreement, the three parties also set up detailed joint research and development and clinical trial plans for substances such as tumor mutational burden (TMB), Microbiom, Car-llT, E-tcell, Basket and ROP-T cells.
“The success or failure of the bio-business depends on speed,” Myongji Hospital Chairman and CEO Lee Wang-jun said. “I am confident if the hospital, research organization, and biotech company work as one team they will have sufficient competitiveness in domestic and global markets.”