Daewoong Pharmaceutical (069620) has secured its first global patent since acquiring U.S. biotech firm Turn Biotechnologies, strengthening its intellectual property position for the development of mRNA-based anti-aging therapies.
The company said on the 27th that it had received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for ionizable lipid technology, the core foundational technology behind eTurna, a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery platform it acquired from Turn Bio.
The patent, titled "Lipid Structures and Compositions Comprising the Same," covers ionizable lipid structures and related LNP technology that deliver therapeutic nucleic acids such as mRNA to target cells. It will be formally registered as a patent after the remaining procedures are completed.
The decision marks Daewoong Pharmaceutical's first global patent achievement since it acquired Turn Bio's cell reprogramming intellectual property and assets in May. Through the acquisition, the company obtained IP related to the Epigenetic Reprogramming of Aging (ERA) platform, an mRNA-based cell reprogramming technology.
ERA is a partial reprogramming technology that delivers reprogramming factors to aged cells in the form of mRNA, restoring cellular function to a younger, healthier state while preserving cell identity. The eTurna LNP platform delivers the mRNA to the intended cells during this process, and ionizable lipids, its key component, determine delivery efficiency and safety.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical expects that once the patent is formally registered, securing ionizable lipid rights in the United States will support the global commercialization and technology licensing of its anti-aging pipeline.
With mRNA technology expanding beyond COVID-19 vaccines into treatments for cancer and other diseases, Daewoong Pharmaceutical plans to develop the anti-aging field as a new growth engine.
According to the patent specification, delivering the LNP to human dermal fibroblasts and aged tissue increased collagen VII expression, a marker of skin regeneration, along with cell proliferation, while reducing aging markers. Delivery efficiency and cell viability were also confirmed in immune cells such as T cells, pointing to potential expansion beyond skin into immune disorders and intractable age-related diseases.
Global market research firm Precedence Research projects the global anti-aging therapeutics market will reach about $9.3 billion, or roughly 14 trillion won, by 2035. Altos Labs and Life Biosciences are also developing related treatments.
"This U.S. patent allowance is an important step forward in strengthening our technological competitiveness in the global mRNA therapeutics market," said Park Sung-soo, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical. "We will move quickly to advance our preclinical pipeline into clinical trials and accelerate the development of global anti-aging drugs."
