Research Institute researchers are conducting research. /Courtesy of Daewoong

Daewoong, a domestic pharmaceutical company, will embark on the mass production development of organoids, known as mini organs.

Daewoong noted on the 13th that its project 'Development of mass production technology for organoid regenerative therapeutics,' evaluated as a core technology in the regenerative medicine field, has been selected as part of the 2024 materials and components technology development project organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Organoids are three-dimensional (3D) tissues created to mimic organs in the human body. The use of organoids for regenerating damaged tissues or organs in patients is called 'organoid regenerative therapeutics.' This approach is primarily applied to patients with damaged functions of major organs or tissues, such as the heart, liver, and kidneys, helping to regenerate the damaged areas and can also be used for treating difficult diseases.

The project selected for Daewoong consists of a total of three sub-projects.

Sub-project 1 aims to develop core materials and culture vessels for the mass production of high-quality organoid regenerative therapeutics. Sub-project 2 focuses on the development of core components for real-time monitoring and quality evaluation of high-quality organoid regenerative therapeutic production. Sub-project 3 addresses the development of automated processing equipment for mass production of high-quality organoid regenerative therapeutics.

Daewoong serves as the lead organization for sub-project 1 and oversees all three sub-projects. Daewoong plans to hold quarterly meetings and research seminars to assess research progress and encourage the research capabilities of partner organizations. Additionally, it aims to develop key materials such as culture vessels capable of mass cultivation, high-quality extracellular matrices, growth factors, and additives, and will support research by providing proteins and chemicals like growth hormones, as well as verifying commercialization potential through performance evaluations of these materials.

Organoids require an environment that uniformly supplies elements necessary for growth, such as nutrients and oxygen. However, the existing culture vessel structures struggle to provide a standardized environment, and most of the key materials needed for 3D culture, including extracellular matrices, special growth factors, and additives, are dependent on imports. Moreover, much of the organoid manufacturing process relies on manual labor, which can lead to quality variations based on the worker and consequently complicate mass production.

This serves as a challenge to develop an automated and standardized organoid process. Yu Ji-min, head of the Bio R&D Center at Daewoong Pharmaceutical, said, "This project will be a game changer in the regenerative medicine industry, making mass production of high-quality organoids possible," adding, "Through this project, Daewoong plans not only to focus on technology development but also to accelerate the global commercialization of organoid regenerative therapeutics."