바이오스펙테이터

by Jongwon Jang

Since its foundation in December 2015, RaND Biosciences Inc. has been pioneering a new model of ‘Bio-Venture Open Innovation’. The company has secured a lot of pipelines for new drugs including immunological anticancer agent based on low-molecular compound in a short period of time (less than 4 years) and succeeded in the invitation of investment of 122 million KRW for ‘Series A’ from domestic venture capital and strategic investors.

President of the company, Kim Gyu-chan, is a professional specialist who has been a professor in College of Medicine of UCLA in USA. He has served as a specialist of the Strategy for R&D of New Drug and Intermediation in Merck, masterminded the excavation, assessment, and global technology transfer for technologies of new drugs. In particular, he was the first technological scout of Asia-Pacific Region of Merck, the global pharmaceutical company, wherein he had excavated more than 300 innovative technologies and led three collaborative R&D and Global Technology Transfer.

The model of business set forth upon foundation of his company was the NRDO (No Research Development Only). This was followed by the establishment of strategy of global technology transfer by raising the value of technology based on strategic research and development that was opened for the invitation of innovative technologies enabling commercialization and capable of penetrating into markets of hospitals, enterprises, and universities. The strategy was derived from his experiences accumulated in the ‘Big Pharmaceutical Company’.

The strength of RaND Biosciences Inc. is not limited to securing candidates of new drug and feasible target. The company regards enhancement of value of technology enabling global technology transfer through additional research and development as the core of competitiveness.

Thereby, action mechanisms of candidate materials of new drugs are examined. Specific groups of patients are classified by finding biomarkers and researches demonstrating consistent transformability between data collected at each stage are conducted. Through this approach, the data package needed by big pharmaceutical companies for technology transfer is developed, ultimately increasing the rate of success in the development of new drugs,.

The pipeline of the fastest development in RaND Biosciences Inc. was the 'SCR430', the STAT3 Inhibitor. The contract of co-research and collaborative global licensing was concluded in 2018 with ‘Supreme Cure Pharma’ in Taiwan. ‘Supreme Cure Pharma’ was granted Phase 1 Clinical Trial for SCR430 from FDA of USA in 2018. Currently, a clinical trial is being conducted the in EU.

RaND Biosciences Inc. also manages works to enhance values of SCR430 through additional researches and new clinical trials separate from clinical trials conducted by ‘Supreme Cure Pharma’. In particular, the strategy of developing dual-anticancer agent is capable of direct attacking and destroying cancer cells. The concept of targeting anticancer agent equipped with anticancer and immunological function attacking TAM and MDSC cells and the concept of immunological anticancer agent are established. In particular, the company conducts research to demonstrate the efficacy and action mechanism of SCR430 as an immunological anticancer agent besides the function of targetable anticancer agent which has been demonstrated previously.

The preparation of selection criteria for patients of reaction group in clinical trials by segmentation of patients subjected to clinical trials is in progress through studies on biological signature in tissues of patients and experiment of animal models of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) for the development of strategy of clinical trials of SCR430.

President Kim Gyu-chan stated, “… we will promote the Phase 1b/2a Clinical Trials in USA for the development of Targetable-Dual Anticancer Agent in 2020 …’, and “… we will also promote the appointment as an ‘Orphan Drug’ and ‘Breakthrough Therapy Designation’ through the strategy of segmentation of patients’ class…”.

RaND Biosciences Inc. established the strategy of developing Targetable-Immunological Dual Efficacy Anticancer Agent from RON/RYK Activity Inhibitor which was in contract of technology transfer concluded with LDC in 2017, the subsidiary of Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science.

In particular, RaND Biosciences Inc. continues to select candidate materials by observing the possibility of inhibition of immunological anticancer functions by RON and RYK through mutually different mechanisms. Besides the candidate material of new drug transferred from LDC, additional candidate materials with excellent efficacy and pharmacokinetics (PK) will be appraised through a collaboration to confirm the final candidate material and to conduct the assessment of GLP toxicity. President Kim explained, “… the preclinical trial will be completed by the end of next year, thereafter we will apply for the Phase 1 Clinical Trial in USA … “.

Global technology transfer by RaND Biosciences Inc. is on its way. The sustainability of NRDO model resides in the introduction and development of innovative candidate materials of new drug and establishment of beneficial cycle wherein global technology transfer is repeated. President Kim stated, “… the staff capable of mediating global technology transfer will be joining soon. Discussions on global technology transfer will be on tables from next year. We expect tangible outcomes therefrom in 2021…”.