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MarkHerz (CEO Lee Seung-min), a company specializing in gene delivery systems, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with bio-venture company Haiam Bio (CEO Jang Ki-yook) on August 11 at the annex of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital to develop AAV (adeno-associated virus) gene therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will begin to share knowledge and establish a joint research infrastructure for their vascular targeting collaboration. MarkHerz will be responsible for the development, production and distribution of targeted AAV vectors, while Haiam Bio will be responsible for the selection and preclinical testing of therapeutic genes, with a focus on the development of innovative gene therapies for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Initially, the two companies will begin research to develop an AAV delivery system to treat leg diseases that cause necrosis due to blockage of blood vessels in the lower extremities, with the goal of restoring normal function to legs that must be amputated due to diabetes.
MarkHerz is based on its source technology in target screening process accumulated over 20 years by CEO Lee Seung-min, who served as head of the research center at EN Cell, Inc., Samsung Seoul Hospital, and the entire process from development to production of AAV gene therapy. Based on the company’s experience throughout the trial cycle, MarkHerz has established a platform to develop and produce “targeted AAV gene therapy” that treats diseases by delivering therapeutic substances precisely and safely.
Haiam Bio is a bio-venture company within Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea and has extensive research and clinical experience in immunotherapy technology for the prevention of heart failure after myocardial infarction and technology for the treatment of aortic valve and vascular calcification.
Lee Seung-min, CEO of MarkHerz, said, “One of the major causes of death in diabetic patients is cardiovascular disease. Through this collaboration, I hope we can utilize MarkHerz’s vascular targeting gene therapy technology as an innovative treatment solution for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.”
MarkHerz is a company located in the 2nd Pangyo Metaverse Hub in Gyeonggi-do. And last July, it moved to the Frankfurt Global Business Center of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency in Germany to establish a base for its business expansion in Europe.