Daewoong, YiPSCELL to work on artificial red blood cells to tackle blood donation shortage

Daewoong Pharmaceutical said on Monday that it signed a joint research and development agreement with YiPSCELL, a domestic induced pluripotent stem cell research company, to develop artificial red blood cells.

Artificial red blood cells replace the function of red blood cells, which are responsible for delivering oxygen to cells in the blood. 

Recently in Korea, the blood supply imbalance has been growing due to the outbreak of various infectious diseases such as Covid-19 coupled with the low birthrate and the aging population.

The existing blood bank that relies solely on blood donations is unsustainable. Thus, establishing a stable blood supply alternative at the national level through the development of artificial blood cells and artificial platelets is a priority, Daewoong said.

Accordingly, Daewoong and YiPSCELL will conduct joint research to secure source technology for the development of artificial blood cells using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). 

These cells can differentiate into all types of body tissues and organs of the human body. Research is also actively being conducted as a cure for various severe and incurable diseases through tissue regeneration and cell therapy.

Professor Ju Ji-hyeon of rheumatology at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital founded YiPSCELL in 2017. 

"We are looking forward to joint research with YiPSCELL, which has excellent induced pluripotent stem cell technology, as a partner in the development of artificial blood cells," said Daewoong Pharmaceutical CEO Lee Chang-jae.

Ju, CEO of YiPSCELL, said the company would work closely with Daewoong to contribute to stabilizing the supply of red blood cells at the national level, based on the company’s human induced pluripotent stem cell platform technology.