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Kangstem Biotech strives to develop an innovative new drug for patients suffering from rare and incurable diseases.
Kangstem Biotech-Korea Pasteur Research Institute signs joint research contract for follicle organoid screening
24
2025.12
- Co-development of follicular organoid-based screening platform
Kangstem Biotech and the Institut Pasteur Korea announced on the 24th that they have signed a joint research agreement for hair follicle organoid–based screening. Under the agreement, Kangstem Biotech will manufacture and supply hair follicle organoids, while the Institut Pasteur Korea will develop a screening platform model utilizing these organoids.
This agreement is particularly significant as it represents a collaboration with a major domestic research institute following Kangstem Biotech’s announcement of the commercialization of its organoid products. It is also the first case in which Kangstem Biotech’s standardized and highly reproducible hair follicle organoids will be used in screening research at an external research institution, enabling studies that can be immediately applied in both research and industrial settings.
Jong-Chun Na, CEO of Kangstem Biotech stated, “In the development of conventional hair loss treatments, it has been difficult to accurately predict clinical efficacy in humans using only 2D cell models or animal models. Our hair follicle organoids, however, faithfully reproduce the structure and physiological responses of human hair follicles and are well suited to high-throughput screening of large numbers of candidate compounds. This enables not only efficacy evaluation but also simultaneous analysis of potential side effects, allowing for a level of precision that is difficult to achieve with existing models.”
Seung-Gi Jang, Director of the Institut Pasteur Korea, commented, “This joint research will serve as an opportunity to expand the institute’s screening platform R&D capabilities—originally built in the field of infectious diseases—into a wider range of disease areas. Through our collaboration with Kangstem Biotech, we plan to establish a hair follicle organoid platform and link the institute’s drug discovery screening expertise to broader industrial R&D activities.”
This collaboration goes beyond a simple joint research project and aims to create a new standard for organoid-based drug screening by combining the core technologies of both institutions. Upon completion of the research, the two organizations plan to expand their activities into areas such as:
▲ Hair loss candidate compound screening services for pharmaceutical companies;
▲ Organoid-based efficacy evaluation CRO services;
▲ Discovery of novel therapeutic targets for hair loss.
Through this partnership, Kangstem Biotech is expected to significantly strengthen its competitiveness in the high value-added organoid market, compared to conventional artificial skin or 2D models. Meanwhile, the Institut Pasteur Korea plans to establish a collaborative research model that enables broader application of organoid-based efficacy evaluation studies across both research and industrial fields.
For more details, Please refer to the link below.
https://www.mt.co.kr/thebio/2025/12/24/2025122409130659955
#kangstembiotech #organoid #stemcell #hairfollicle
