Cellbastian is a bio startup that develops immune cancer therapeutics based on natural killer (NK) cells, which are innate immune cells. Established in October 2023 based on the research results of Professor Kim Gyo-beom from Dongguk University, it was incorporated as a subsidiary of Dongguk University's technology holding company in January of this year.
Kim Gyo-beom, the CEO of Cellbastian, noted, "I established the company to provide new hope to cancer patients through the development and commercialization of innovative immune cell therapies for solid tumors."
The technological foundation to achieve this goal is the "Engager platform." The Engager platform is a differentiated technology that coats the surface of NK cells with biomaterial composite materials to maximize the precise targeting of cancer cells and the anticancer effects against solid tumors.
The coating membrane on the surface of the NK cells serves as a single platform, allowing the therapeutic agents and delivery substances to be assembled like Lego blocks, enabling the diversification of target diseases through material variations.
This technology focuses particularly on enhancing the cancer cell recognition ability and killing effect of NK cells through biomaterial-based cell membrane modification.
CEO Kim stated, "Preclinical experimental results confirmed that modified NK cells detected and killed cancer cells more effectively when injected intra-vascularly during circulation in the body."
Despite the need for several additional stages before commercialization, Cellbastian’s technology is expected to provide solutions specialized for solid tumors while overcoming the limitations of existing immune cancer cell therapies related to high costs, complex technical processes, and secondary tumor formation.
Currently, chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy is a notable technology in the immune cell therapy market. CAR-T is a chimeric antigen receptor-based technology designed to recognize only cancer cells by modifying the genes of T cells isolated from the patient’s blood. However, this technology has the drawback of costing hundreds of millions of won per administration and being effective only for hematologic cancers.
To overcome these limitations, Cellbastian has developed cell surface engineering technology that modifies the surface of NK cells with biomembrane-compatible polymer composite materials without genetic modifications. This technology presents an alternative focused on the treatment of solid tumors, exceeding the limitations of CAR-T cell therapy, which is effective only for hematologic cancers. It boasts advantages such as cost reduction, suitability for solid tumors, biocompatibility, and scalability for mass production.
Cellbastian's NK cell-based immune cancer therapeutics are currently in the animal testing validation stage. This has confirmed enhanced tumor reduction effects compared to commercial chemotherapy or general NK cells for triple-negative breast cancer and pancreatic cancer.
The company is supplementing data through non-clinical and toxicity experiments while preparing for preclinical trials for commercialization. In addition, it is continuously advancing the development of biomaterial composite materials such as polymer medical materials capable of treating more than two types of cancer simultaneously, thereby enhancing the stability and efficacy of the therapeutics.
Kim stated, "Our goal is to grow into a leading corporation in the bio healthcare field through technological advancement, and to that end, we are recruiting specialized talent and preparing for product commercialization. Additionally, we aim to achieve corporate growth by transferring technology to domestic and international pharmaceutical companies."
Meanwhile, Cellbastian, as a resident company of the Dongguk University Campus Town, is receiving support from the Seoul city and Dongguk University Campus Town. The Dongguk University Campus Town project team selects promising startups as resident companies and provides startup support spaces along with practical training and ongoing expert consultation, among various startup and incubation programs.