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[ KOREA REPORT 는 대한민국 첫번째 글로벌 미디어 채널 SBS CNBC가 한국의 최첨단 기술 소개, 최고의 리더 인터뷰 등 역동적인 대한민국의 참모습을 세계 경제를 움직이는 최고의 경제 채널 CNBC의 글로벌 네트워크를 통해 전달하는 프로그램입니다. ]

 

 

Welcome back to Korea Report. Korea's stem cell technology is once again under the spotlight... with the government this year... planning to invest more than 8-point-8 million dollars... in this field. As a result, we're expecting active research of stem cell therapy here in Korea. So today... in our Leaders segment... we meet the man in charge of a leading stem cell company... called RNL Bio. Dr. Jeongchan Ra talks about his success... and the future of the industry.  

 

RNL Bio is a home-grown bio-technology company that specializes in stem cell research. It currently operates the world's first consolidated stem cell bank, allowing people to have their stem cells frozen and deposited for future treatment of various diseases. Last year, RNL Bio even had its technology transferred to a US company, earning the reputation for its world-class technical skills. Its revenue meanwhile surged by more than 60 percent year on year. Right now, RNL Bio is    building on its success... working to commercialize more therapeutic research of stem cells for incurable diseases.

 

 

■ Interview

- Dr. Rah, thank you so much for joining our program today.

 

▶ Perhaps we should begin with your brief introduction of stem cell therapy. What it does...and what your company is working to achieve. Broadly speaking, there are two types of stem cells: embryonic and adult stem cells. What we're doing is culturing one's autologous adult stem cells and use them to treat various cell damages. As for the company, I established RNL Bio 12 years ago with three professors from the Seoul National University. Like I said, we use adult stem cells to treat rare and incurable diseases like leukemia and Parkinson's, among others.

 

- What made you jump into this business?          

 

▶ Before starting my own business I used to work for the LG Group where I had the chance to travel to over 60 countries around the world. The experience helped me think about the need to get new cure materials from nature. As you may know, East Asian countries have skills that date back thousands of years of handling natural substances. I thought we could combine those skills with Western medicine to come up with safer and highly effective medical technology. That's how I started this business.

 

- Technology-wise, where does Korea stand in this field right now?

 

▶ Korea is world's number one in the field of adult stem cell research, although the country still lags in embryonic stem cell technology. In fact, Korean companies that specialize in stem cell research are number one, two and three among all the listed biotech firms in the global arena. Besides other notable features, Korea is the only country at the moment that has licensed, not just one, but three stem cell treatments as safe medical products. So you can say this country is a pioneer in terms of cultivating patients' own somatic stem cells and treating various degenerative diseases.

 

- What's the most urgent task right now for Korea to upgrade its position in this field?

 

▶ I think deregulation is very important. In Japan and China, stem cell therapy is registered as a new medical treatment technology, whereas in Korea, it's recognized as medicine. This make various clinical applications of the method difficult. So by easing rules a bit I think this technology can help patients with incurable diseases a lot, not only in Korea but elsewhere around the world.

 

- Last year, you saw a big increase in sales. What drove up the figure? Was there a special reason?

 

▶ Our business is comprised of two major parts. One is providing stem cell storage service. The other is culturing the cells. As for the stem cell deposit service, we've already raised the number of our clients to 15-thousand during the past four years. The other service, which is cultivating stem cells, is offered in Korea, China and Japan. Our biggest focus right now is on cooperating with our overseas partners to have our technologies spread and let the world know about stem cell therapy. That's our main project at the moment.

 

- RNL Bio has established the world's first stem cell bank. Tell us about that.

 

▶ Until 2005 we didn't know about the concept of isolating and culturing stem cells from adipose tissue and then "depositing" them for future use. We were the first to develop the process into a business model and set up a stem cell "bank." The launch of this business certainly opened a new chapter in curing diseases by using your own stem cells.

 

- Let's move on to a sensitive issue that still stirs up a controversy. The issue concerning Dr. Hwang Woo-suk... after he fabricated his research data... and announced that he had cloned human stem cells. Since then, there have been debates on the efficacy and safety of the technology. And of course, the moral aspect. I want to hear your opinion.

 

▶ I think it was really ironical. Until 2005 Korea was all focusing on embryonic stem cell research. We saw the government pouring huge amounts of money into the field, while at the same time offering big policy support. What Dr. Hwang Woo-suk was doing was cloning human embryos by using what's called somatic cell nuclear transfer to extract stem cells from them, which of course, was found to be a fraud. So he was using human embryos. After the scandal however, Korea turned its attention to adult stem cells. That hanged everything. Compared with the United States and Europe where scientists continued to work on embryonic stem cells, Korea turned its investments to somatic stem cells in the following 6, 7 years. And that helped the country take the lead. So in a way, the scandal was very disappointing to many, but the incident certainly offered a chance to think about the ethical aspect of bio research and the importance of authenticity.

 

- There are pros and cons about stem cell therapy, some arguing it's simply dangerous... while others elieve this could be a cure-all. Do you feel uneasy when you hear these extreme opinions? When was the most difficult moment for you?

 

▶ Of course, people worry about the safety of new medical technologies at their early stages. Distrust is a very natural reaction. But from my experience and seeing the effects of our method, I can assure you, our stem cell therapy is very safe. Just like any other proven medical technologies, our treatment method to culture your own adult stem cell from adipose tissue cannot go wrong. Three Korean companies have already received the permission for their stem cell therapies. And RNL Bio is expecting an official license from the Korea Food and Drug Administration this year. I strongly believe this therapeutic method is highly effective and has the potential to change the concept of how the world treats various diseases.

 

- When was the most difficult moment for you?

 

▶ The most difficult part of was to overcome public distrust. As I mentioned earlier, we had the 'Dr. Hwang Woo Suk scandal' several years ago, which raised the level of public concern about stem cell treatment. And this made local doctors very cautious about using the method. So public distrust had been our most difficult issue. Right now, we're making efforts to make people see and believe. You know, seeing is believing. We want to show as many scientists and ordinary people as we can that stem cell therapy we offer is safe.

 

- You're also busy expanding your presence in overseas markets. Do you have a different strategy?

 

▶ We send our research center staff directly to our overseas partner companies to be stationed there. So we take full responsibility of our technological service worldwide. Dispatching our researchers to overseas markets, that's what makes us different from others.

 

- And lastly, tell us about your business plans going forward.

 

▶ Our plan is to open research centers in 200 countries within the next three years. But above all, our ultimate goal is to continue to develop new and improved stem cell treatments for even the most incurable diseases... so that people can live with hopes that they can always lead a healthy life. That's our most important plan.

 

 

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