Pangyo, Gyeonggi, 7 Aug, 2017 | On 3 Aug, 2017, Institut Pasteur Korea (IPK, CEO: Dr. Wang-Shick Ryu) and the New Drug Development Center and the Laboratory Animal Center of K-Bio Health signed an MOU for a new drug discovery research collaboration on liver cancer.

 

Despite liver cancer being the sixth most frequent malignant tumor cancer globally (2012. CDC[1]), and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths (2012. CDC[1]), it has been difficult to develop effective targeted therapies. Unfortunately, there are only a few effective ways to prevent or treat liver cancer at this time, and only 10-20% of liver cancers can be removed surgically [2]. Therefore more innovative and novel approaches must be taken to improve treatment options.

Using a 3-dimensional (3D) tumor microenvironment in vitro platform, the Cancer Biology Research Laboratory (CBRL) at IPK has discovered several lead compounds with the potential to fight liver cancer. Under this MOU, three team will set up a liver cancer animal model and test the efficacy of these potential lead compounds.

Dr. Haengran Seo, Team Head of CBRL, IPK says, "We are excited the promising lead compounds discovered by our lab at IPK are moving from the cell model to animal model stage. This animal model allows us to test efficacy safely and with confidence. It is our hope that together, this collaboration will lead development of an effective drug against liver cancer.”

Reference (Source):
1) CDC : Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2) Hepatocellular carcinoma. MedlinePlus, Medical Encyclopedia and wikipedia


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About Institut Pasteur Korea
Institut Pasteur Korea (IPK) is an international research institute focused on addressing global health issues with a combination of cutting edge approaches in order to understand disease mechanisms and develop new treatments. By promoting multi-disciplinary projects, IPK is at the forefront of drug discovery and an economic growth engine that contributes to Korea's scientific intellectual and technical resources. IPK has four core missions of public interest; 1) Research, combining front line biology, IT, and chemistry, with innovative cell-based drug discovery platforms that identify novel molecular targets for potential new therapies to treat diseases, 2) Education, offering a wide range of programming to nurture the development of the next generation of scientists and health professionals, 3) Public Health, working in collaboration with national and international health authorities, and 4) Translation of biomedical discoveries to improve health via technology transfer and industrial partnerships.
 
IPK is a member of the Institut Pasteur International Network (Network). As a hub institution, IPK plays a key role in the Network, serving as a bridge between Korea and global bio-pharma science, expanding Korea's R&D base collaborative research projects with global alliances
 
The institute was established in April 2004 in collaboration with Institut Pasteur Paris and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), with support from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP). IPK also has a great supporter in the Gyeonggi Provincial government (2005 – 2015 : Block funding | 2016 – Present : drug discovery co-resarch fund for pharm industries).