Ingenium Therapeutics

Ingenium Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation anti-cancer immunotherapy treatments. The company was founded in November 2020 by CEO Jinok Koh and Sangyong Kim. Koh has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on business development and licensing. The company's core technology, developed over 20 years at the Korea Research Institute of Biosciences and Biotechnology (KRIBB), centers on producing memory Natural Killer (NK) cells. Ingenium was established as a spin-off from KRIBB to commercialize this technology.

The company's proprietary platform enables the differentiation and proliferation of allogeneic (derived from healthy donors) memory NK cells with enhanced anti-cancer efficacy. This feeder-cell-free process can produce large quantities of highly pure and healthy NK cells designed to recognize and destroy cancer cells, including cancer stem cells, with minimal immunogenic risk. Ingenium's lead product is "gengleucel" (IGNK001), a memory NK cell therapy initially developed for relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R/R AML). The company is also developing a pipeline of other treatments, including CAR-NK therapies, peptides, and engagers to enhance NK cell function within the tumor microenvironment for treating various solid tumors.

Ingenium Therapeutics operates on a business model focused on the research, clinical development, and eventual commercialization of its cell therapies. The company has achieved significant milestones, including securing Phase 1/2 IND approval from Korean regulators for gengleucel in R/R AML. In April 2024, the U.S. FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation to IGNK001 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia, which offers incentives like market exclusivity and tax credits. The company has raised a total of 14 billion KRW through funding rounds, including a Series A round, to advance its clinical trials in Korea and prepare for trials in the U.S. Ingenium has established a US subsidiary and is engaged in joint research collaborations with institutions like Yale University and KAIST to develop novel in vivo CAR-NK cell engineering approaches.

Keywords: NK cell therapy, immunotherapy, oncology, acute myeloid leukemia, allogeneic cell therapy, CAR-NK, cancer treatment, gengleucel, KRIBB, biotechnology, solid tumors, clinical-stage, memory NK cells, orphan drug, cell engineering, immune-oncology, biopharmaceutical, cancer stem cells, refractory AML