NEWS“SHIFTBIO, a company that puts the armor on the avatar of cells”

19 Aug 2022

SHIFTBIO INC. is an emerging leading startup that is growing rapidly in Korea. Recently, SHIFTBIO had an interview with a major Korean press and the content is as follows.



The cells in our body constantly communicate with each other. For example, cells in the kidney communicate with the cells in the lung. Exosomes, 50-200 nano meter-sized particles secreted by cells, play a role as the messenger that allows cell-to-cell communication. In this sense, the researchers refer to exosomes as the 'avatar' of cells.


Exosomes' spotlight is behind their potential to be used as groundbreaking therapeutics. Encapsulating a therapeutic substance into the exosome may serve as a 'FedEx' to deliver the drugs directly to the targeted destination. Meanwhile, several global startups developing novel drugs based on exosomes are arising. Likewise, an emerging startup in Korea, SHIFTBIO, has caught the limelight's attention through its peerless platform technology.


SHIFTBIO is utilizing exosome technology in multiple ways. Maxisome is a state-of-the-art exosome platform technology that enhances the efficacy of therapeutic molecules by maximizing the expression of a therapeutic protein. Thus, Maxisome is not a normal exosome; it is a 'Super Exosome.' It delivers a massive amount of treatment substances that can be utilized to cure cancer, arteriosclerosis, acute liver failure, and more. SHIFTBIO is currently preparing clinical trials to prove the excellence of stem cell-derived Maxisome in treating incurable diseases.


Another exosome platform SHIFTBIO has developed is Fusosome. It mimics the cell-penetrating moiety of the virus, allowing the exosome to fuse with the target cell membranes. The application scope of the Fusosome is endless. It can coat the membrane of recipient cells with the selected protein and/or directly deliver the genes or proteins into the cell cytoplasm for therapeutic purposes.


Furthermore, SHIFTBIO has acquired a patent for InProDel platform technology. InProDel acts as a conductor of the orchestra, which loads the transcription factor into the exosome to coordinate a wide range of signals by efficiently delivering them to the targeted destination within the cell. SHIFTBIO is currently developing a method of loading the transcription factor into the exosome.


In a nutshell, SHIFTBIO has a wide range of exosome platform technology to utilize exosomes in various ways. Gi-Hoon Nam, Chief Operating Officer of SHIFTBIO, mentioned, "As a significant number of pharmaceutical companies are emerging, the consulting companies that provide the expertise knowledge step by step is also increasing. Developing a new drug is definitely hard work, and there will be countless trials and errors. Nonetheless, there are numerous options and sources to overcome these hurdles. From my point of view, the key factors for biotech startups to survive are scientific basis and research ability. Thus, I am confident that SHIFTBIO's exosome platform technology, based on excellent science, has a high chance of success. It has a myriad of possibilities to create hundreds of treatments, not limited to one disease."


You can reach out to the full interview through the link below:

https://www.mk.co.kr/news/it/view/2022/08/720145/