Cellumed announced on the 14th that it has been selected as the final leading company for the '2023 Excellent Corporate Research Institute Development Project (ATC+)' led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. As a result, Cellumed will receive 1.9 billion KRW in research funds from the government over the next four years.

The Excellent Corporate Research Institute Development Project aims to stimulate sustainable growth and industrial innovation through research and development (R&D) support for companies with high technological capabilities. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to support various projects by injecting a budget of 81.1 billion KRW this year.

Cellumed plans to use the grant to develop a process that improves the production yield of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) by more than five times compared to the existing one and to develop a composite material for bone grafting using BMP2. BMP2 is a growth factor that accelerates bone regeneration when applied to damaged areas such as the spine and teeth. The global market size reaches 1 trillion KRW, and demand is steadily increasing.

Currently, BMP2 is produced using 'CHO cells', animal cells, or E. coli, and Cellumed has commercialized BMP2 using animal cell-based technology. This technology has the advantage of high efficacy, although the production cost is high.

Young-sik Kim, Director of the Cellumed Research Institute, said, "We expect to improve the production yield of BMP2 by more than five times through the national project, and if we successfully complete the project, we will secure both quality and price competitiveness of BMP2, leading the global market." Meanwhile, Cellumed is also working on a replaceable battery platform business for secondary batteries to diversify its business.