Ajou University Hospital Transfers Liver Cancer Early Detection Technology to Thermoagen

Ajou University Hospital has transferred precision liver cancer diagnosis and treatment technology developed by Professor Eun Jung-woo's gastroenterology team to a biotech company, raising expectations for commercialization of technology that can detect liver cancer early through blood tests alone and suppress cancer metastasis.

According to Ajou University Hospital on Wednesday, the hospital signed a technology transfer agreement on December 25 with Thermoagen for "composition technology for liver cancer prevention and treatment targeting liver cancer-causing genes" developed by Professor Eun's team. The transfer includes an innovative diagnostic method that can detect liver cancer early using only blood samples and treatment technology that suppresses liver cancer metastasis by targeting specific genes. Ajou University secured 200 million won in technology fees through this transfer.

This marks the third technology transfer achievement for the Ajou University Hospital liver research team, which consists of Professor Eun and Professors Jeong Jae-yeon and Kim Soon-sun.

The research was conducted with support from the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs' "University Technology Management Promotion New Project (IP Star Scientist Support Type)" and Ajou University Hospital's "Research-Centered Hospital Unit 2 Project." Graduate student Jang Se-ha participated in the project, playing a crucial role in refining experimental data and advancing the technology. The research team successfully verified cancer metastasis suppression effects in in-vitro experiments and animal model studies, increasing the potential for clinical application. Thermoagen plans to accelerate development of early liver cancer detection kits and commercialization of anticancer drugs based on this technology.

Ajou University expects this achievement to serve as both a successful case of commercializing original technology from its research-centered hospital system and a model for successful industry-academia cooperation.

"This achievement was made possible through the research team's long-term cooperation and data accumulation," Professor Eun said. "Through joint research with Thermoagen, we will contribute to realizing precision medicine by developing customized diagnostic kits and treatments applicable to patients."