Bundang Seoul National University Hospital is teaming up with Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Diego to develop an advanced treatment platform targeting pancreatic cancer, a hard-to-treat cancer. The goal is to deliver near-infrared–responsive gold nanoparticles to tumor tissue to attack cancer cells with light and improve the tumor microenvironment.
Bundang Seoul National University Hospital said on the 27th that it was selected for the "2026 research-driven hospital Korea-U.S. innovation performance creation R&D" project led by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. This national research and development project supports domestic research-driven hospitals and U.S. research institutions and universities in securing advanced medical technology and producing global research outcomes through joint research.
For this project, Lee Jong-chan, a professor in the Division of Gastroenterology at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, will serve as overall principal investigator to conduct the "Global joint study on an NIR-II photoresponsive chiral gold nanoparticle–based advanced treatment platform for pancreatic cancer." It will run for two years and six months through Dec. 2028, with a total research budget of 7 billion won.
Pancreatic cancer is hard to detect early, and the tumor microenvironment hinders treatment, making it a representative intractable cancer. The research team aims to overcome the limits of existing treatments by targeting not only cancer cells but also the surrounding tissue and the immune and vascular environment.
The team will leverage the properties of gold nanoparticles that respond to light. After delivering gold nanoparticles to pancreatic cancer tissue and irradiating near-infrared light, the nanoparticles receive light energy to produce therapeutic effects in the tumor tissue.
In the treatment process, they plan to develop a method that uses endoscopy to access pancreatic tumors, directly deliver gold nanoparticles, and apply optical stimulation via the same route. Unlike systemic therapy, the goal is to concentrate therapeutic effects on the tumor site.
Universities, hospitals, and corporations in Korea and abroad will participate in the study.
In Korea, teams led by Professor Nam Gi-tae of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University, Professors Jeon Bong-hyun and Kim Dong-eun of the Department of Biotechnology at Konkuk University, and Professor Kang Seok-jo of the Department of Biological Sciences at KAIST will conduct joint research. In the United States, teams led by Professors Ho Man Koo, Satoshi Kashiwagi, and Dai Fukumura at Harvard Medical School and Professor Michael Bouvet at UC San Diego will participate. Korean corporations Finemedix and JNP Medi have joined.
The gastrointestinal endoscopy solutions corporations Finemedix(387570) will develop ultrasound endoscopy (EUS)–based devices that directly deliver therapeutics to pancreatic cancer tissue. The company plans to develop therapeutic devices based on its in-house technology that covers everything from the design to the production of needles used in EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA). It will also utilize precision machining technologies accumulated during the development of its in-house EUS device, "ClearTip."
If this project leads to an actual treatment technology, there is potential to expand the platform to other solid tumors as well as pancreatic cancer. The team presented a final goal of validating the technology in pancreatic cancer and then applying it to various solid tumors.
Lee Jong-chan, a professor in the Division of Gastroenterology at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, said, "Being selected for this project is the result of international recognition of the pancreatic cancer and nanomedicine research capabilities we have accumulated," and added, "We will work with the world's leading research institutions to develop treatments that provide real help to pancreatic cancer patients."
Jeon Sung-woo, CEO of Finemedix, said, "This study is meaningful in that it expands Finemedix's EUS device technology into the field of pancreatic cancer treatment," and added, "By collaborating with researchers in Korea and abroad, we will enhance our technological competitiveness in therapeutic endoscopy and broaden our opportunities to enter the global market."