PanGen Wins National Institute of Health Research Contract for 'SFTS Therapeutic Antibody' Project

Aiming to Advance the Nonclinical Sample Production System
for SFTS Therapeutic Antibodies

PanGen has secured a research contract from the National Institute of Health for an SFTS antibody project, aiming to strengthen its capabilities in developing therapeutics for tick-borne infectious diseases.

PanGen, a biopharmaceutical company under the Huons Group, announced on the 22nd that it has won a research service contract for the development of antibodies for the treatment of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS), commissioned by the National Institute of Health under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The contract is worth a total of 2.75 billion won, which corresponds to 20.46% of the company’s total sales last year. The contract period runs from today until December 31, 2028.

Through this project, PanGen will carry out the National Institute of Health’s research on “Advancement and Evaluation of the Nonclinical Sample Production System for SFTS Therapeutic Antibodies” for three years. The research will leverage PanGen’s proprietary biopharmaceutical development technologies and manufacturing capabilities.

SFTS is a category 3 notifiable infectious disease transmitted by ticks, with a reported fatality rate of around 18%. As of the article’s publication, there are no commercialized specific treatments or vaccines, so patients primarily receive symptomatic treatment (supportive care). While some antiviral drugs are used, their therapeutic efficacy is limited, making the development of effective therapies urgent.

Neutralizing antibody therapies work by binding to viral surface proteins, blocking viral entry into cells, and eliminating viruses through the body’s immune response. The SFTS therapeutic antibody currently under development by PanGen showed a very high survival rate in animal studies, even when subjects were infected with lethal doses of the virus.

Yoon Jaeseung, CEO of PanGen, stated, “If the SFTS therapeutic antibody currently in development is commercialized, we expect it will not only help alleviate symptoms and promote recovery in patients, but also reduce the fatality rate and prevent secondary infections.” He added, “Through ongoing research and development, we will continue to develop new growth engines in addition to our existing biosimilar and CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) businesses.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.