Oncolab secures 1 billion won in investment

Bio startup Oncolab (CEO Jongseong Kim) announced on the 11th that it has attracted 1 billion won in Pre-A investment from Futureplay based on its immune-oncology platform ANGel (ANTibody-conjugated microGel) technology.

Oncolab plans to use this funding to conduct GLP non-clinical trials and expand its GMP-based facilities, preparing for global clinical trials. The ANGel platform is a precision drug delivery (DDS) technology utilizing biocompatible microgels. Its unique feature is the sustained release of small-molecule anticancer agents within tumors, minimizing systemic toxicity and enhancing therapeutic efficacy.

This platform combines antibodies and anticancer drugs into a single microgel particle, simultaneously recognizing cancer cells, activating the immune system, and releasing the anticancer drug. Antibodies attached to the particle surface precisely target cancer cells and amplify the immune response, while the anticancer drug inside is slowly released around the tumor.

OncoLab is developing the drug for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) as its initial indication and is pursuing a modular platform strategy that can be expanded to various solid tumors, including prostate cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, through modifications to the antibody combination. GLP toxicity studies and humanized mouse efficacy trials are currently underway, and global clinical preparations are accelerating, with the goal of submitting an IND in 2026.

Kim Jong-seong, CEO of OncoLab, said, “The ANGel platform is a technology that activates the immune response while directly attacking cancer cells, and it is a platform that can suggest a new paradigm for combination treatment.” He added, “We will continue to develop the technology so that we can provide new treatment opportunities to more patients.”

Kim Som-i, a senior researcher at Futureplay, which executed this investment, said, “Oncolab has a high level of technological perfection and clinical expandability as a next-generation platform technology that combines precision DDS and immuno-oncology,” and added, “Through this investment, we will create global technology transfer results together.”