[Edaily Reporter YU JIN-HEE ] SANIGEN Co., Ltd.(188260), a company specializing in genome-based microbial diagnosis and control, has announced its leap toward becoming a global innovative biopharmaceutical company, spearheaded by its second-generation AI-based endolysin platform that transcends the limits of nature.

SANIGEN Co., Ltd. announced on the 28th that it will host the “Ushering in an Era of Antibiotics Without Resistance: 2026 Endolysin-Based Next-Generation Antimicrobials Symposium” at the Jeongdong 1928 Art Center in Seoul on the 28th.

This event was organized to officially announce the mid- to long-term vision and the “Second-Generation Endolysin Engineering Development Roadmap” of the “K-HERO” Research Consortium—launched as a national project by the Ministry of Science and ICT—based on SANIGEN Co., Ltd.’s accumulated big data from genomic analysis and its microbial control technology.

SANIGEN Co., Ltd. has led the field-oriented market for harmful microorganism diagnostics—ranging from institutional food service and the food industry to national defense and healthcare—by commercializing its proprietary molecular diagnostic technologies based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and next-generation sequencing (NGS).

The company plans to combine its advanced genomic database with control expertise to expand its business scope beyond existing “diagnosis and control” into the “development of next-generation antimicrobial therapeutics” targeting superbugs.

Previous first-generation endolysin research was limited to simply screening for active compounds from naturally occurring bacteriophages, leading to challenges such as limited scope in controlling multidrug-resistant bacteria, vulnerability to proteolytic enzymes in the body, and inefficiency in large-scale screening.

SANIGEN Co., Ltd. is accelerating the development of new drugs with maximized targeted bactericidal activity and in vivo stability by introducing a second-generation R&D model that integrates microbial genome analysis capabilities with AI-driven precision protein design technology and “BioFoundry,” an ultra-high-speed synthesis platform.

The symposium began with a presentation on development strategies by Yoo Sang-yeol, Senior Scientific Advisor at SANIGEN Co., Ltd. (and former professor at Seoul National University), a leading authority on endolysin research in Korea. Park Jeong-woong, CEO of SANIGEN Co., Ltd., then personally presented the company’s vision for becoming a global innovative biopharmaceutical company and the direction of the K-HERO national research project. The main session that followed featured presentations on key research achievements by leading domestic university research teams aimed at overcoming the limitations of the first generation.

The presentation sessions will feature: △ Professor Kim Min-sik of Yonsei University (“Next-Generation Antimicrobial Modalities for the Post-Antibiotic Era”); △ Professor Gong Min-seok of Seoul National University of Science and Technology (“Control of Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae via Combination Therapy with Endolysins and Depolymerases”); △ Professors Shin Hak-dong and Shin Jong-hyuk of Sejong University(Development of Next-Generation Antimicrobial Proteins Using Biofoundry-Based High-Throughput Gene Assembly Strategies) △ Professor Son Bo-kyung of Dong-A University (Phage-Derived Genetic Elements as Antimicrobial Sensitizers for Drug-Resistant Bacteria) △ Professor Park Jin-byeong of Ewha Womans University (Design of Endolysins with High Resistance to Staphylococcus aureus Proteases and Excellent Bactericidal Activity).

A SANIGEN Co., Ltd. representative emphasized, “SANIGEN Co., Ltd. is the company with the deepest understanding of the microbial ecosystem and resistance mechanisms through its genome-based technological capabilities,” adding, “This symposium will serve as a major turning point as we emerge as a global innovative biotech company leading the development of next-generation therapeutics through the design of second-generation endolysins that overcome the limitations of first-generation naturally derived endolysins.”