Bertis Signs MOU with Accelerator Platform of Precision Medicine at Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital for Joint Research on Therapeutic Target Discovery and Validation

- Collaboration to validate SURF-based candidate targets using patient-derived tissue and clinical and pathological data 

- Establishing a research framework connecting target discovery, patient-level validation and follow-up research to drug development

 Photo: Bertis Co-CEO Seung-man Han (left) and Myung-geun Shin, Director of the Accelerator Platform of Precision Medicine at Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, pose for a photo at the MOU signing ceremony held at Bertis' headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on September 10.

Bertis, a proteomics technology platform company (co-CEOs Dong-young Noh and Seung-man Han), announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Accelerator Platform of Precision Medicine (APP) at Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital (Director Myung-geun Shin) to conduct joint research on the discovery and validation of therapeutic targets using patient-derived clinical resources and proteomic technologies.

Under the MOU, Bertis and APP will pursue joint research to discover and validate therapeutic targets for cancer and other major diseases. The two organizations plan to use patient-derived human biospecimens and de-identified clinical and pathological data to assess candidate targets' expression characteristics in patient tissues, disease relevance and clinical significance, while leveraging Bertis' SURF-based proteomic technology for therapeutic target discovery and analysis. They will also pursue academic publication and use of the research findings, while exploring opportunities for follow-up research and commercialization for promising results.

The agreement establishes a research framework through which candidate targets discovered through Bertis' drug target discovery platform, SURF, can be validated at the patient level. The research will expand beyond identifying novel therapeutic target candidates through cell-line-based analysis to evaluating whether candidate targets demonstrate meaningful expression characteristics and disease relevance in actual patients by linking patient tissues with clinical and pathological data.

SURF is a platform that generates and analyzes data on proteins located on and near the surface of cancer cells to identify novel therapeutic target candidates. Through AI-based analysis and experimental validation, the platform develops these candidates into drug target packages that can be advanced through joint research or licensing. Cell-surface proteins can serve as targets for a range of therapeutic modalities, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and bispecific antibodies, making them an important area of focus in drug target discovery and development.

APP serves as a collaborative hub connecting Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital's clinical and research resources and precision medicine research infrastructure with corporate R&D. Notably, the hospital's Non-Clinical Trial Center was recently designated by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as a Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) institution for non-clinical studies in the pharmaceutical field, providing a foundation for conducting key non-clinical studies under a quality management system that meets international standards. Building on this MOU, the two organizations plan to discuss the scope of individual research projects, the use of samples and data, research funding and the division of responsibilities, with the goal of strengthening the continuity of research from novel target discovery through patient-level validation and follow-up research on promising candidates.

"Validating whether a drug target has the potential to function as a meaningful therapeutic target in actual patients is just as important as discovering new candidates," said Seung-man Han, CEO of Bertis. "Through this collaboration, we aim to combine Bertis' proteomics-based target discovery capabilities with the clinical research resources of Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital to discover and validate more reliable therapeutic targets and generate outcomes that can advance drug development and lead to follow-up commercialization."