'Artificial organs will arrive in years'

Genexine chairman expects 4th wave in biologics

By Lee Min-hyung

A renowned scholar-turned-entrepreneur predicts artificial organs will become a reality in the not-so-distant future.

Genexine Chairman Sung Young-chul made the remarks in a recent lecture to executives where he said 3D bio-printing would make artificial organs possible.

“What would be the next innovation in biologics? It would be artificial organs based on 3D bio-printing or cell-printing. It would take one or two decades,” said Chairman Sung who established Genexine in 1999. “Or it might come to town earlier by several years.”

His prediction came on the heels of the announcement last week that Korea’s Kolon Life Science won a license to sell the nation’s first gene therapy drug for a degenerative joint disease.

Kolon has invested more than 110 billion won ($97 million) over the past two decades to develop the drug, named INVOSSA. Just around 10 ex-vivo gene therapies have won government approval across the world.

Loaded with commercial potential, they are dubbed future blockbusters to treating patients. For example, the global market for degenerative joint disease is estimated to be around 45 trillion won. And it keeps growing.

Chairman Sung said after such ex-vivo gene therapies become reliable, artificial organs would come.

“We have gone through multiple paradigm shifts in innovative biologics. In detail, we have seen three new waves in cell and gene therapies and the third shift is underway. The fourth wave would be about artificial organs,” the chairman said.

“As far as cell therapy is concerned, Korea is leading the world. But the area lags in terms of commercial attractiveness and clinical attractiveness. By contrast, gene therapy wins out in both categories.”

Artificial organs are expected to be by far more attractive both commercially and clinically because demand always outstrips supply.

“The number of people waiting for transplants keeps rising and just a small fraction of them actually get organs from donors. Worse, those who get transplanted organs should go through painful processes of inhibiting immune responses,” Sung said.

As the waiting list grows, the demand for artificial organs is predicted to become bigger.

After going through ups and downs over the past 17 years, Genexine is now working on a variety of substances that can lead to innovative therapies. Some of them are now undergoing clinical tests.

The company is not earning money yet. In fact, it has mostly lost money in the past few years. But it is one of the biggest biological companies on the country’s tech-heavy KOSDAQ market.

In recognition of its upside potential, investors have gobbled up its stocks. Its market capitalization has fluctuated around 1 trillion won over the past few years.