Autotelic Bio has been selected for the lead optimization stage of the “2025 First National Drug Development Project: Drug Discovery Infrastructure Program,” administered by the Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF) under the leadership of Chairman Youngmin Park, and has signed a formal research agreement.

This program is designed to support the advancement of early-stage bioactive compounds into qualified drug candidates by facilitating the identification and optimization of lead compounds.

Through this project, Autotelic Bio plans to discover lead antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) conjugates with enhanced tumor microenvironment selectivity, targeting CHI3L1 (Chitinase-3-like Protein 1), a protein increasingly recognized for its pathological roles in various inflammatory, neurodegenerative, and oncological diseases.

CHI3L1 has attracted growing attention for its involvement in immune cell activation, macrophage polarization, and tumor microenvironment formation, and is known to be upregulated in chronic inflammatory disorders and central nervous system diseases. Through multiple preclinical studies, Autotelic Bio has confirmed the potential of CHI3L1-targeting ASOs to regulate disease progression by suppressing mRNA expression.

The company is currently developing CHI3L1 ASO-based therapeutic candidates for atopic dermatitis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and cancer, aiming to establish novel treatment strategies. These efforts have already drawn early-stage interest from major global pharmaceutical companies.

This project represents Autotelic Bio’s first initiative utilizing its proprietary AI-integrated ASO discovery platform. Within just 3.5 months, the platform achieved a high success rate exceeding 10%, generating multiple promising lead compounds. The platform identifies highly active ASO sequences by analyzing the two-dimensional and three-dimensional folding structures of target mRNA.

The KDDF-funded project incorporates advanced tumor-targeted delivery technologies to develop CHI3L1 ASOs as anticancer therapeutics through modulation of the tumor microenvironment (TME). The research will be conducted in collaboration with the team led by Dr. Sunhwa Kim at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Spidercore, a company specializing in RNA-based AI technologies.

Through this project, Autotelic Bio aims to identify lead RNA therapeutics capable of converting immunologically “cold” tumors into “hot” tumors, thereby enhancing anti-cancer immune responses. The company will receive government funding over the next two years to support these research activities.

Hong Yongrae, Vice President and CTO of Autotelic Bio, stated, “CHI3L1 is an unexplored target for which no commercialized targeted therapies currently exist, yet it holds significant therapeutic potential when combined with ASO technology. Through this research, we aim to present new possibilities that can contribute to advancing treatment paradigms for related diseases.”