MarkHerz Partners with TUM Hospital to Advance AAV Gene Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease
核心洞察
MarkHerz Inc. (搜索), a South Korean biotech startup, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Klinikum rechts der Isar (搜索) at the Technical University of Munich (搜索) to jointly develop next-generation gene therapies for ischemic heart and peripheral vascular diseases (搜索).
The collaboration centers around MarkHerz's proprietary MAAV Platform and its MRTF-A (搜索) candidate, which aims to overcome limitations of existing protein-based treatments like VEGF (搜索) and FGF (搜索) by promoting functional blood vessel regeneration through endothelial recovery.
The partnership provides MarkHerz strategic access to Europe's flexible clinical trial pathways and TUM Hospital's extensive cardiovascular preclinical models to generate regulatory-grade data for global agencies including EMA, FDA, PMDA, and MFDS.
MarkHerz Inc. (搜索), a South Korea-based biotechnology startup specializing in AAV-based gene therapies targeting cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (搜索), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Klinikum rechts der Isar (搜索), the university hospital affiliated with the Technical University of Munich (搜索) (TUM), Germany. The agreement, signed on May 16, 2025, establishes a broad-based collaboration for the joint research and development of next-generation gene therapies for ischemic heart and peripheral vascular diseases (搜索).
Strategic European Partnership
The collaboration centers around MarkHerz's proprietary MAAV Platform, which enables the development of precision-targeted AAV (adeno-associated virus) gene therapies, particularly its MRTF-A (搜索) candidate. The partnership will encompass preclinical and clinical trials, technology consulting, and the sharing of research infrastructure.
The signing ceremony was attended by leading cardiovascular gene therapy expert Prof. Christian Kupatt (MD, TUM), patent attorney Dr. Rudolph Schön of Germany's Neymeyr & Partner, Seungmin Lee (Dr. Mark Lee), CEO of MarkHerz, and Jeongseo Baek (Grace Baek), Head of the company's German office.
Leveraging European Clinical Pathways
MarkHerz's entry into Germany reflects a strategic initiative to complement Korea's increasingly regulated domestic environment by leveraging Europe's flexible clinical trial pathways, such as EMA's Early Access programmes and Investigator-Initiated Trials. TUM Hospital's extensive cardiovascular preclinical models and translational research capacity are expected to generate high-quality data recognized by global regulatory agencies, including the EMA, FDA, PMDA, and MFDS.
Dr. Seungmin Lee emphasized, "The clinical validation of cardiovascular gene therapies is a critical factor in licensing negotiations with global pharma partners. This partnership goes beyond R&D; it marks the beginning of international clinical and commercial deployment of our platform technology."
MRTF-A Gene Therapy Innovation
MarkHerz's MRTF-A (搜索) treatment aims to overcome the limitations of existing protein-based treatments, such as VEGF (搜索) and FGF (搜索), by promoting functional blood vessel regeneration through endothelial recovery. This treatment is designed to deliver long-term efficacy in a single dose while addressing the core promise of gene therapy: sustained, one-time treatment.
Expanding European Network
This agreement positions MarkHerz to strengthen ties with not only TUM, but also Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich and the BioM Cluster (搜索), forming a robust network across Europe's premier scientific institutions. The partnership represents a milestone in Korea's expanding influence in global biotech innovation and paves the way for European clinical entry and global technology transfer.