[THE INVESTOR] Boryung Pharmaceutical said on Aug. 10 it has become the biggest shareholder of Korea’s immune cell therapy developer Vigencell in a bid to diversify its drug pipeline.

Boryung now owns a 52.3 percent stake in Vigencell after buying an additional 75,000 shares, valued at 1.5 billion won (US$1.30 million). The drug maker previously bought a 32.6 percent stake in the biotech firm in a deal worth 1.5 billion won in June. 

“Through the partnership, we plan to secure diverse cell treatments in the field of immunotherapy, which has been attracting attention,” a Boryung official said.

Founded by the Catholic University of Korea in 2013, Vigencell is currently working on a cancer fighting drug using its platform-based technology designed to culture T cells isolated from patient’s blood and manufacture Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte that kills cancer cells.

Boryung said it will seek to obtain orphan drug designation for Vigencell’s immune cancer treatment candidate to initiate phase 3 clinical trials.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)