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MBRiX, a biotech startup developing technology to convert immune cells into therapeutic cells within the body, announced on the 7th that it has completed a Series B funding round of 8 billion won.
The round was led by InvestKorea, with participation from Korea Investment Partners, Seoul National University Technology Holding, iGen, Korea Omega Investment Finance, and LifeCore Partners. Following its Series A round of 3.2 billion won in 2022, MBRiX has secured a cumulative total of 11.2 billion won in investment through this latest round.
MBRiX is a biotech company established with the participation of faculty from Seoul National University and Sungkyunkwan University, as well as research and production experts from global pharmaceutical companies. The company is developing an "in vivo CAR-T" therapeutic agent that directly converts immune cells into therapeutic cells within a patient's body.
Existing CAR-T therapies involve extracting T-cells from a patient's blood, genetically modifying and culturing them ex vivo, and then administering them back to the patient. Consequently, this approach is limited by the significant time and cost required for therapeutic production.
To address this issue, MBRiX developed its proprietary platform, "Navibody," which delivers therapeutic substances to target cells. This method directly converts immune cells within the body into therapeutic cells through injection, without the need for separate ex vivo cell processing. According to the company, this simplifies the production process and allows for an expanded range of applications across various diseases.
The core therapeutic candidate, "MIC-001," recently demonstrated in preclinical stages that it is delivered to target T-cells and reduces target B-cells. Based on these results, MBRiX is intensifying the development of therapies for autoimmune diseases and blood cancers, while also planning to expand the Navibody platform to solid tumors and other conditions.
Cha In-hwan (CEO) of Seoul National University Technology Holding, which participated in this investment, stated, "MBRiX is a company that has secured differentiated LNP (lipid nanoparticle) targeted delivery technology and production efficiency in the in vivo CAR-T field, which is attracting attention from global pharmaceutical companies." He added, "We expect to maximize platform competitiveness that can be expanded to various diseases, rather than being limited to a single new drug."
Sung Chang-won, CEO of MBRiX, said, "With this investment, we will enhance the completeness of our pipeline and focus on preparing for full-scale clinical trials." He added, "We will accelerate technology transfer and clinical entry efforts targeting global pharmaceutical companies."
[MoneyToday Startup Media Platform Unicorn Factory]
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