Curocell, Inc. is a South Korea-based clinical- and commercial-stage biotechnology company that specializes in the discovery, development, and commercialization of next-generation chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) immunotherapies for hematologic cancers, solid tumors, and autoimmune disorders. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Daejeon, South Korea, the company operates within the biopharmaceutical sector, providing advanced cellular therapies to specialized medical centers, academic hospitals, and oncology care networks across domestic and international markets.
The company's core technological foundation is its proprietary Overcome Immune Suppression (OVIS) platform, an engineering technology designed to overcome CAR-T exhaustion by simultaneously downregulating the expression of dual immune checkpoint receptors PD-1 and TIGIT, thereby maintaining anti-tumor T-cell persistence in immunosuppressive microenvironments. Curocell's product portfolio and developmental pipeline comprise RIMQARTO (anbalcabtagene autoleucel / CRC01), a commercial autologous CD19-directed CAR-T cell therapy indicated for adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL); expanded clinical-stage programs evaluating anbalcabtagene autoleucel for autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); investigational autologous pipeline assets targeting T-cell malignancies, such as anti-CD5 CAR-T candidates; pre-clinical CAR-T research programs targeting solid tumor antigens; next-generation allogeneic off-the-shelf cell therapy platforms; and commercial-grade cell processing and quality-controlled supply services conducted at its proprietary Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facility in Daejeon.
In recent developments, Curocell achieved commercialization milestone approval when South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) granted marketing authorization for RIMQARTO, marking the approval of the first domestically developed CAR-T therapy in South Korea. The company expanded its therapeutic scope beyond oncology by obtaining investigational new drug clearance to conduct Phase 1/2 clinical studies for anbal-cel in systemic lupus erythematosus. Strategically, Curocell entered into an international partnership with Türkiye-based Biruni Group to co-develop and commercialize RIMQARTO, transferring manufacturing know-how to establish local GMP production and targeting regional regulatory authorization by 2027. Additionally, the company partnered with CDMO provider ProBio to support commercial-scale lentiviral vector production and regulatory validation, following its initial public offering and listing on the KOSDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol 372320.