Vaxcellbio secures KDDF research grant to develop MYO1D-targeted cancer therapeutics

Vaxcellbio, a Korean biotechnology company specializing in immunotherapy, said it has signed a research agreement with the Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF), after being selected for the national program “Foundational Research for New Drug Discovery.” Under this agreement, the company will pursue the discovery of next-generation targeted anticancer lead compounds based on the degradation of the molecular motor protein MYO1D (Myosin 1D).

The KDDF is a pan-government national R&D program launched to strengthen the global competitiveness of Korea’s biopharmaceutical sector. From 2021 to 2030, the initiative supports the full R&D cycle of new drug development, with the goals of reinforcing Korea’s drug development ecosystem, generating globally viable outcomes, and advancing public health benefits.

Supported by government funding from October 2025 to September 2027, Vaxcellbio will conduct research to identify and optimize small-molecule lead compounds that degrade MYO1D, a protein that anchors several growth factor receptors (GFRs) to the plasma membrane of cells and maintains their presence on the cancer cell surface.

Kim Kyung-keun, Executive Director of R&D at Vaxcellbio, led a research team that was the "first in the world" to find that MYO1D anchors not only wild-type but also mutant forms of growth factor receptors to the cell membrane.

The team also demonstrated that knockdown of MYO1D leads to sequential degradation of these receptors. This discovery suggests a way to overcome resistance mechanisms observed with current GFR-targeted therapies that act only on wild-type receptors and lose efficacy when mutant receptors are expressed.

Building on this research, Vaxcellbio is developing targeted protein degradation–based small molecules that break down MYO1D, and is currently validating their mechanism of action and therapeutic efficacy in early-stage oncologic studies.

By degrading MYO1D as the primary target, the candidate molecules trigger the sequential degradation of associated secondary targets -- both wild-type and mutant growth factor receptors - thereby blocking downstream oncogenic signaling initiated by these receptors.

The company expects that this therapeutic strategy will offer a breakthrough option for difficult-to-treat solid tumors such as lung, colorectal, breast cancers, and glioblastoma multiforme, which have resistance to existing GFR-targeted therapies, including tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and monoclonal antibodies.

“MYO1D-targeted degradation represents a novel anticancer mechanism that can overcome resistance caused by expression of mutant growth factor receptors,” Vaxcellbio CEO Lee Je-jung said. “Through this national drug development program, we aim to generate a lead compound, proceed with subsequent non-clinical evaluations, and secure a clinical candidate that can establish a new modality for improving therapeutic responses to refractory solid tumors.”