Developed by Green Cross Cell Corp.
"Generally, about 75% of liver cancer are liable to recur five years after they are cured. However, Green Cross Cell-developed 'Immuncell-LC', the next-generation customized cancer immunotherapy, can reduce the recurrence rate up to 33%. This result is considered unprecedented globally. This is the reason that we have attracted a great deal of interest from of U.S. state officials when we were visiting the United States," said Green Cross Cell Corp. CEO Lee Duck-joo. He met with a number of U.S. officials and businessmen while
visiting the United States a part of the business delegation who accompanied Korean President Moon Jae-in on his visit to America. CEO Lee said that many state commercial officials would compete to establish cooperative ties with Green Cross Cell. “This was the noteworthy outcome of my travel to the United States,” he said in an interview with The Korea Post.
Before visiting the United States as part of the business delegation, he was also in a tour of America. He participated in 'SelectUSA', an invent sponsored by the U.S. State Department of Commerce. The 'SelectUSA Investment Summit' brings the diversity of the United States together under one roof-enabling any business to find the people, the resources and the market the United States welcomes any enterprises, including small or medium-sized ones. Green Cross Cell took part in the program and received investment briefings from U.S. officials and business executives.. For his part, CEO Lee publicized the efficacy and safety of the Immuncell-LC in the SelectUSA event.
He explained that Immuncell-LC is a cancer immune drug which can remove cancer from patients using their own immune cells while this was developed in the United States many years ago, Green Cross Cell is the first to commercialize the advanced technology after conducting systematic clinical tests. Immuncell-LC received approval from MFDS (Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety) in August 2007 as anti-cancer drug for hepatocellular carcinoma and is currently being distributed to general hospitals and cancer centers. The anti-cancer immune cell therapy is extremely advantageous because it uses a patient’s own blood, not attacking normal cells, which results in almost no side effects. The therapy can remove minute canner after surgery, prevent recurrence of cancer and be performed with other types of anti-cancer treatments.
When Green Cross Cell announced the results of its years-long clinical tests on liver cancer patients, the responses of U.S. medical personnel and officials were explosive. They said it was hard to believe that the Korean company’s Immuncell-LC can reduce the recurrence and mortality rates of liver cancer to up to 33% and 67%. They were virtually shocked by the announcements that were unprecedented globally. Few side effects were reported that it is cancer immunotherapy which can treat cancer using patients’ own immune cells.
With this favorable circumstance formed in the United States, CEO Lee returned to Korea.
He, however, again went to America just a few hours later as part of the business delegation who accompanied President Moon Jae-in during his trip to the United States. He boarded a U.S.-bound airliner in the night after having appointments with Korean patients in the day. CEO Lee’s efforts paid off. U.S. enterprises and state officials showed more respect toward him as he returned to America along with Korean President Moon Jae-in. Of note, he had chances to meet with officials of health-related organizations, including NIH (National Institute of Health, FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and CRO (Contract Research Organization). CEO Lee desired to meet them before.
While Immuncell-LC is distributed to hospitals in Korea after completing needed clinical tests, it is yet to be approved in United States. The drug needs to be clinical-tested in the United States to be distributed to general hospitals and cancer centers in America. Therefore, it was important for CEO Lee to talk with American medical officials.
In Korea, about 3,000 cancer patients have been treated with amti-cancer immune cell therapy which was developed by Green Cross Cell Corp.