Samsung Life Science Fund said on the 7th it will invest in U.S. biotech venture corporations Cartography Biosciences.
Samsung Life Science Fund is a venture investment fund jointly funded by Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics, and Samsung Bioepis, and managed by Samsung Venture Investment. It focuses on identifying global corporations with innovative technologies in biotech to secure future growth drivers.
Cartography Biosciences is a corporations with a platform that discovers antigens by combining proprietary single-cell genetic data with advanced bioinformatics (BI).
Through its in-house "ATLAS" and "SUMMIT" platforms, it identifies tumor-specific antigens and antigen combinations. Based on this, it has capabilities to design antibody therapies with improved targeting accuracy.
Its lead pipeline includes "CBI-1214," a T cell engager for colorectal cancer. The candidate entered phase 1 early this year and is currently recruiting patients.
As the global anticancer drug market has recently shifted toward Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC), bispecific antibodies, and T cell engagers, the importance of "antigen discovery technology," which can reduce normal cell damage and precisely strike only cancer cells, is growing.
Through this investment, Samsung plans to expand its global collaboration base linked to Cartography Biosciences' gene data–based antigen discovery and drug development capabilities, and to support promising technologies in next-generation cancer therapeutics.
Jung Hyung-nam, head of the Samsung Biologics Research Center (executive vice president), said, "Cartography is a next-generation biotech innovation corporations that can change the treatment paradigm by combining single-cell genetic data by cancer type with bioinformatics," adding, "We will continue to support innovative technologies that will bring real change to patients worldwide."
Kevin Parker, CEO of Cartography Biosciences, said, "Samsung is the best partner that most closely fits our goal of precisely analyzing tumor biology to develop differentiated therapies," adding, "We are pleased to partner with a global leading corporations that recognizes the value of new technologies and cutting-edge biological engineering."