Company
Business
Stem Cell Therapy
Organoid
CDMO Business
IR Resource Center
Kangstem Biotech strives to develop an innovative new drug for patients suffering from rare and incurable diseases.
Joint Development of BMG Materials for Organoid Applications
20
2025.05
Joint Development of BMG Materials for Organoid Applications
Kangstem Biotech has signed a joint research agreement with Japanese company BMG Inc.(hereinafter “BMG”) to co-develop cryopreservation materials for organoids and other 3D cell-based regenerative therapies. BMG specializes in the development of materials for regenerative medicine and has an established lineup of cryoprotectants optimized for iPS cells.
The two companies, both selected last year for a national organoid research project led by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, plan to develop next-generation cryopreservation materials applicable to various types of organoids, including hair follicles, islets, liver, brain, heart, and bone. Existing cryoprotectants easily permeate single cells but face limitations in penetrating the core of three-dimensional organoid structures, resulting in insufficient protection of internal cells. This often leads to cellular damage or death in the center, ultimately causing structural collapse of the organoid.
Additionally, since long-term storage of organoids is currently challenging, they must be used in real-time after culturing, limiting their use in high-throughput screening(HTS) platforms that require large volumes of data. According to the company, if organoids can be preserved for extended periods with a dedicated cryoprotectant, they can be mass-produced, frozen, and distributed—enabling not only drug evaluation services for global pharmaceutical companies but also the commercialization of ready-to-use organoid testing kits.
The head of Kangstem Biotech’s research center stated, “We aim to develop dedicated cryopreservation materials that allow for stable production, preservation, and long-distance transport of organoids. In particular, with regulatory bodies like the U.S. FDA and Europe phasing out animal testing, organoids are emerging as a key alternative testing method. Dedicated cryoprotectants will be essential for the commercialization and competitiveness of organoid-based therapies, and we anticipate increasing demand for such products and technologies.”
Separately, Kangstem Biotech is currently developing next-generation skin organoids. Unlike conventional spherical organoids, the company’s skin organoids are flat in shape—closely resembling actual human skin—and structurally replicate key components such as the epidermis, dermis, hair follicles, sebaceous glands, and melanocytes. These organoids are already being used as platforms to evaluate the efficacy of cosmetics
and pharmaceuticals. Compared to animal testing, they offer higher predictive accuracy for human applications, potentially increasing the success rate of product and therapeutic development.