Ingenia Therapeutics, a Korea-based biotech headquartered in Boston, said on the 8th it received an A grade from both institutions in the technology evaluation for a KOSDAQ special listing for technology. The company is aiming to list in the second half of next year.
Ingenia develops therapies based on antibody technology that protects and restores microvasculature and was founded in 2018 in Boston. Its lead pipeline is IGT 427, a candidate for ophthalmic diseases including macular degeneration. The technology works by reducing inflammation and leakage in vascular endothelial cells to normalize vascular function.
IGT 427 signed a technology transfer and joint research deal worth up to 1 trillion won with a global pharmaceutical company in 2022, and last year recorded its first profit since its founding. In phase 1/2a trials for diabetic macular edema and wet macular degeneration led by the partner company, positive results were confirmed in terms of safety and early efficacy, and the company is preparing to enter phase 2b/3 next year. It was also presented as a key case at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting held in Orlando in October.
The second core pipeline, IGT 303, is being developed in-house as a treatment for kidney disease. It received phase 1/2a approval in Australia and New Zealand and began dosing the first patient last month. The company plans to secure key data by the second half of next year and pursue late-stage global trials.
Based on its own platform technology, Ingenia is expanding its research scope beyond eye and kidney diseases to various chronic and inflammatory diseases involving vascular barrier damage. It has already secured multiple new candidates.
Chief Executive Han Sang-yeol said, "We are pleased that our technology and business potential were recognized with an A grade in the technology evaluation," and added, "We will use the funds raised through the listing to advance our platform, develop follow-up pipelines, and expand global talent recruitment to deliver results in global new drug development."
Han is an antibody development expert who has worked at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Harvard Medical School, and U.S. biotech companies, and core members include researchers from global pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and GSK.