Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- Genexine, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, will establish a cooperative system for clinical trials in cooperation with two domestic partners, GenNBio and ToolGen, for their joint research into xenotransplantation using genetically modified pigs. The rejection of animal organs in human bodies has been a major cause of transplant failure. Cloned pigs have been genetically modified for stable xeno-transplantation.

ToolGen, a South Korean developer of genome editing technology, has original technology related to third-generation gene scissors to cut out genetic information in cells. GenNBio specializes in the experiment and analysis of new drugs and organ transplantation as well as the development of bio organs.

A research team led by Park Chung-gyu, a leading expert in xenotransplantation, joined GenNBio in 2019 to speed up research on animal-to-human organ transplants free of rejection using genetically modified pigs. Park's research has focused on pig pancreatic transplants to treat Type 1 diabetes, which usually develops in children. Type 1 diabetes does not produce insulin in the pancreas by birth, so receiving a pancreas transplant is a fundamental treatment.