Lucas Bio will collaborate with Samsung Medical Center on the development of a treatment for pediatric viral cystitis.
The viral immunotherapy specialized company Lucas Bio noted on the 29th that its joint research project with Samsung Medical Center was selected for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 'Research and Development (R&D) for Overcoming Pediatric Diseases - Support for Pediatric Clinical Trials' national project.
The company will embark on developing the 'virus-specific memory T cell therapeutic agent (LB-DTK-BKV) for the treatment of refractory BK virus hemorrhagic cystitis after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation' in collaboration with Professor Kim Yejin's team from the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division at Samsung Medical Center.
The BK virus is a type of poliovirus, the pathogen of polio, which reactivates in immunosuppressed patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and causes hemorrhagic cystitis. There is currently no effective treatment available. This research is garnering attention as it is the first clinical study in the country targeting a disease with no effective treatment using memory immune cells (T cells).
'LB-DTK-BKV' is a therapeutic agent created using blood from donors or parents of patients based on the Lucas Bio memory cell therapy (LB-DTK) platform. It is a 'life-sharing-based treatment model' where the patient's family is involved in the treatment.
LB-DTK is a production technology for multifunctional cytotoxic T cells (CTL) that targets multiple types of viral antigens simultaneously using peripheral blood.
Lucas Bio is developing the country's first multifunctional viral therapeutic agent (LB-DTK-MV) and received approval for its phase 1 and 2 clinical trial plan (IND) from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 14th. This therapeutic agent targets a total of three latent viruses: cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and BK virus, focusing on refractory infectious diseases that occur in patients with weakened immunity after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Jo Seok-koo, CEO of Lucas Bio, stated, 'Pediatric BK virus patients suffer from hemorrhage, obstruction, bladder rupture, shock, and severe pain, but currently rely solely on symptomatic treatments such as narcotic analgesics and bladder irrigation.' He added, 'We will do our best to develop innovative treatments that can overcome the BK virus based on the LB-DTK platform.'
Lucas Bio has three types of stem cell-based cell therapy platform technologies. It is developing pipelines in various fields of viral infections, cancer, and inflammation using specialized memory T cells.
Based on the LB-DTK platform, the LB-DTK-COV19 therapeutic agent, which successfully treated long-term infected patients with novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), is currently preparing for advanced regenerative medical treatment approval application.