CHA Biotech Secures 3.15 Billion Won in Government Support, Accelerates CGT Entry for Pulmonary Fibrosis

[Financial News] CHA Biotech Co., Ltd. is accelerating the clinical entry of its in-house cell and gene therapy (CGT) platform, backed by government support. The company plans to apply platform technology, which had remained at the research stage, to the development of a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), move it into the clinical stage, and later expand into other hard-to-treat disease pipelines and technology transfer.
According to CHA Biotech Co., Ltd. on the 25th, the company was selected for a follow-up research and development (R&D) project under the "2026 K-HERO nurturing and support program" overseen by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Over the next 3 years and 6 months, it will receive a total of 3.15 billion won in R&D funding.
The core of the project is to connect CHAMS, the company's standardized source-cell platform, and CHAGE, which enhances cell function through gene introduction, to actual drug development.
So far, CHA Biotech Co., Ltd. has built a GMP manufacturing process, cell banks, quality control systems, and preclinical and clinical development capabilities based on its experience in mesenchymal stem cell research. Through this government project, the company will focus on combining the two platforms and expanding them into a universal CGT development platform that is not limited to any specific disease.
The first test case is CHAGE-201, a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Through this project, CHA Biotech Co., Ltd. will further verify the efficacy and mechanism of action of CHAGE-201 and establish a Chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) system, including cell banks, GMP manufacturing processes, quality testing, and characterization. The goal is to complete preclinical safety studies and secure the data needed to file a domestic Investigational New Drug application (IND).
What the biotech industry is paying particular attention to is that the effort does not stop with a single pipeline, CHAGE-201. If CHAGE-201 validates the clinical applicability of the CHAMS and CHAGE platforms, as well as their manufacturing and quality control systems, those capabilities can also be used in the development of follow-up candidates.
The company plans to first broaden its indications around fibrotic diseases and then expand into areas such as neurology and autoimmune disorders. Along with the discovery of follow-up candidates, it is also leaving room for commercialization through technology transfer and joint development with global pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
In the biotech industry, platform companies are judged not only by the clinical results of individual candidates, but also by whether the same manufacturing and quality control system can be repeatedly applied across multiple pipelines. CHAGE-201's entry into IND filing could become the first turning point in assessing the scalability of CHA Biotech Co., Ltd.'s CGT platform.
Nam Soo-yeon, head of R&D at CHA Biotech Co., Ltd., said, "We will push ahead with CHAGE-201's clinical entry without disruption while gradually expanding the scope of the CHAMS-CHAGE platform." She added, "We will develop it into a next-generation cell and gene therapy platform that offers new treatment possibilities for hard-to-treat diseases and secure global competitiveness."
[email protected] Kim Kyung-a Reporter