PlantForm, Baiya Phytopharm and The DABOM collaborate to produce artificial plant-made exosomes for therapeutics and vaccines
TORONTO, Canada, April 29, 2025 – Canadian biopharmaceutical company PlantForm Corporation, Thailand’s Baiya Phytopharm Co. Ltd. and The DABOM Inc. of Republic of Korea today announced a Research Collaboration Agreement to develop plant-made artificial exosomes for improving therapeutics and drug delivery systems used to treat a variety of conditions including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
The project, “Production of recombinant CD9 protein for generation of nanovesicles for microRNA delivery,” aims to synthesize and produce artificial exosomes that mimic natural exosomes — small vesicles secreted by cells that carry proteins and other molecules and act as a form of intercellular communication. These natural exosomes play a key role in the body’s immune responses, inflammation, and other biological processes. CD9 is a gene-encoding protein that is commonly found on the surface of exosomes and may influence their ability to interact with other cells.
“Artificial exosomes have potentially far-reaching benefits to treat a wide range of diseases; however, there are some barriers to their application in new therapies. One of these limitations is the lack of process scalability. This project aims to help overcome that barrier,” said Dr. Don Stewart, PlantForm’s President and CEO.
The project, managed by Mun-Kyu Kim of Intro Global, combines the expertise of three leading-edge companies. PlantForm will design and synthesize the gene for CD9 using the vivoXPRESS® plant-based manufacturing platform. Baiya will express and purify recombinant CD9 in N. benthamiana plants using their BaiyaPharming™ platform, while The DABOM will produce the artificial exosomes and compare them to natural exosomes.
"Artificial exosomes mimic natural exosomes that naturally occur in the body, which makes them highly biocompatible and less likely to activate an immune response," said Dr. Suthira Taychakhoonavudh, CEO of Baiya Phytopharm. “They can also be assembled to express specific proteins or peptides, allowing them to target specific cells or tissues.”
Artificial exosomes can be designed to encapsulate and deliver therapeutic payloads, including drugs, genes, and proteins. In addition to providing enhanced versatility and targeting, artificial exosomes can be produced at the scale required for clinical applications.
“Exosomes are natural cargo carriers that can efficiently deliver a variety of biomolecules, including DNA and RNA, for therapeutic purposes,” said Dr. Hyo-Il Jung, CEO of The DABOM Inc. “This project will compare the productivity and efficacy of artificial exosomes made with our system to existing natural exosomes. The aim is to conduct an in vitro proof of concept study of artificial exosomes for the delivery of a microRNA payload.”
About Baiya Phytopharm Co. Ltd.(www.baiyaphytopharm.com )
Baiya Phytopharm is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on strengthening health security for all people using the BaiyaPharming™platform. The platform has the flexibility to produce biopharmaceutical products of interest within weeks rather than months or years, resulting in faster and lower-cost research and development. The Baiya team combines expertise in plant biotech, pharmaceutical production, and clinical development capabilities to create biologic candidates for high-unmet medical needs in the Asia-Pacific region. Baiya Phytopharm’s broad proprietary portfolio of candidates includes monoclonal antibodies for cancer or infectious disease and new vaccines for neglected tropical diseases.
About The DABOM Inc.(www.thedabom.com)
The DABOM Inc. is a specialized platform company that uses proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) and microfluidics technology to mass produce artificial exosomes encapsulating active pharmaceutical ingredients for use in therapeutics and vaccines. The company’s Exostation™ manufacturing platform leverages AI to tailor the composition of exosomes for targeting specific diseases, while the Exolution™ microfluidic chip enables mass production of artificial exosomes and lipid nanoparticles. The DABOM Inc.'s pipeline includes exosome-based therapeutics for inflammatory conditions such as oral mucositis and atopic dermatitis, with plans to expand into alopecia and cancer.
About PlantForm Corporation(plantformcorp.com)
PlantForm Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the low-cost production of high-value antibody and protein drugs and vaccines using the proprietary vivoXPRESS® plant-based manufacturing platform. The vivoXPRESS® plant expression system produces biologic drugs at a significantly reduced cost compared to standard mammalian cell systems. The platform is fast (drug production in as little as six weeks), versatile and easily scalable. PlantForm’s pipeline features an innovative antidote to ricin exposure, and biosimilar versions of the brand-name biologic drugs Lucentis® and Keytruda®.
For more information, please contact:
Don Stewart
President and CEO, PlantForm Corp.
don.stewart@plantformcorp.com
+1 416-452-7242
Stacey Curry Gunn
Director of Communications, PlantForm Corp.
stacey.curry.gunn@plantformcorp.com
+1 519-827-1131