Aribio, a corporations developing treatments for degenerative brain diseases, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ForeverNK, a corporations specializing in an NK cell immune platform, for joint research and development of next-generation Alzheimer's disease and degenerative brain disease treatments.
Aribio and ForeverNK held a signing ceremony at Aribio's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on the 24th and signed the MOU with these details.
The agreement was pursued to combine Aribio's new drug development capabilities with ForeverNK's NK cell culture and immune evaluation platform technology to discover new therapeutic targets and candidate compounds. Aribio has secured capabilities in developing new drugs for degenerative brain diseases through the global phase 3 clinical trial of AR1001, an Alzheimer's disease treatment candidate.
The two companies plan to focus on an "immune–neural convergence treatment strategy" based on the interaction between the immune and nervous systems, jointly conduct research and development of next-generation Alzheimer's and degenerative brain disease treatments, discover new targets and candidate compounds using an NK cell and immunomodulation platform, and cooperate on global technology transfer and commercialization of their joint pipeline.
The core of this collaboration is to elucidate neuroinflammation and changes in the brain immune environment, which are drawing attention as key pathological mechanisms of degenerative brain diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. The plan is to jointly study how NK cells and immunomodulatory technologies affect microglial activation, neuroinflammatory responses, and neuronal protection, and to develop this into a next-generation treatment strategy for degenerative brain diseases.
Jeong Jae-joon, Aribio's CEO, said, "Aribio has consistently maintained a multi-mechanism treatment strategy that does not rely on a single pathological mechanism, in line with the characteristics of these diseases," adding, "This collaboration will serve as an opportunity to expand Aribio's brain disease research capabilities into the immune field."
Oh Jeong-hoon, ForeverNK's CEO, said, "This is an important opportunity to expand the application scope of NK cell technology to degenerative brain diseases beyond cancer and immune disorders," adding, "We will build a joint research model that goes beyond simple technical cooperation and leads to the discovery of actual candidate compounds and preclinical outcomes."
Aribio will provide its central nervous system new drug research, clinical design, and global development capabilities secured through the global clinical development of AR1001. ForeverNK plans to support candidate discovery and preclinical research based on its NK cell therapy research, cell culture technology, and immune function evaluation platform. ForeverNK is an immunology-focused bio corporations with NK cell therapies, cell culture kits, and immune function evaluation technologies.
The two companies plan to quickly form a joint research working council, select priority research targets and indications, and begin candidate discovery and preclinical research.