The $140M Shot: MEDIPOST Eyes US Market for Knee Repair Stem Cell Therapy

CAMBRIDGE, MA – January 09, 2026 – In a significant move that underscores growing investor confidence in regenerative medicine, MEDIPOST Inc. announced that its parent company has secured $140 million in new funding. The investment is set to accelerate the U.S. development of a promising stem cell therapy aimed at repairing cartilage damage for the millions of Americans suffering from knee osteoarthritis.

The financing, led by prominent Korean growth equity firms Skylake Equity Partners and Crescendo Equity Partners, will fuel the Cambridge-based biotechnology company's advance into a late-stage Phase III clinical trial, with patient enrollment anticipated to begin in early 2026. The capital injection marks a critical validation of MEDIPOST’s technology and its potential to bring a novel, off-the-shelf regenerative treatment to the U.S. market.

A Strategic Infusion of Global Capital

The $140 million investment, raised at the parent-company level in South Korea, is specifically earmarked to empower the U.S. subsidiary's ambitious clinical and commercial goals. This funding structure highlights a broader trend of international capital flowing into the U.S. biotech sector, seeking to back promising late-stage assets with global potential.

For investors Skylake and Crescendo, this is a follow-on to a previous investment that gave them a controlling stake in MEDIPOST Co., Ltd. in 2022. Their strategy focuses on identifying high-tech Korean companies and providing the capital needed for significant overseas expansion. This latest round, which also saw participation from Woori Private Equity and NH Private Equity, was structured primarily through convertible bonds, giving the investors a flexible pathway to equity as the company progresses toward key milestones.

“The funding from Korea’s top growth equity funds fuels MEDIPOST’s global expansion as we prepare to advance into Phase III clinical evaluation in the U.S., with trial initiation anticipated in early 2026,” said Edward Ahn, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of MEDIPOST Inc. “It allows us to move into late-stage development while continuing to build the clinical, operational and manufacturing foundation needed to bring scalable, off-the-shelf regenerative therapies closer to patients.”

The investment serves as a powerful endorsement of the company's platform. “MEDIPOST Inc. has demonstrated a disciplined approach to regenerative medicine development, grounded in strong science and clinical rigor,” noted Kevin Lee Ph.D., Managing Partner & CEO of Crescendo Equity Partners, in a statement. “We are pleased to support the company as it continues to invest in its platform and prepare for the next phase of clinical development.”

Targeting a Debilitating Disease with a Proven Therapy

Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease affecting over 32 million adults in the U.S. It involves the breakdown of cartilage, leading to pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility that can severely impact quality of life. Current treatments largely focus on symptom management, ranging from pain relievers and physical therapy to invasive corticosteroid injections and, ultimately, total knee replacement surgery. None of these options, however, can regenerate the lost cartilage tissue.

MEDIPOST aims to fill this therapeutic gap with CARTISTEM®, an innovative therapy that has already established a remarkable track record outside the U.S. The product received full regulatory approval in South Korea in 2012, where it has since been used to treat over 30,000 patients with symptomatic cartilage defects.

Unlike autologous therapies, which require harvesting a patient's own cells, CARTISTEM® is an allogeneic, or “off-the-shelf,” product. It is derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) sourced from donated umbilical cord blood. These cells are considered biologically young, with potent anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties that may promote a more favorable environment for tissue repair. This allogeneic approach allows for the creation of a standardized, readily available treatment that can be produced at scale—a key advantage in making regenerative medicine accessible.

Overcoming the Manufacturing Gauntlet

One of the most significant hurdles in bringing cell therapies to market is not just proving they work, but figuring out how to manufacture them consistently, safely, and at a scale that can meet patient demand. The process of culturing and processing living cells is infinitely more complex than traditional pharmaceutical manufacturing, requiring stringent sterile environments, complex cold-chain logistics, and rigorous quality control to ensure batch-to-batch consistency and cell viability.

A substantial portion of the new funding is dedicated to tackling this challenge head-on by expanding operational capabilities and scaling manufacturing processes. To this end, MEDIPOST Inc. has forged a crucial partnership with OmniaBio, a specialized contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). The company plans to leverage OmniaBio's new state-of-the-art cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility in Ontario, Canada, to produce CARTISTEM® for the North American market.

This strategic outsourcing allows MEDIPOST to tap into specialized expertise and infrastructure, mitigating the immense capital expenditure and risk associated with building its own large-scale manufacturing plant from the ground up. It represents a pragmatic approach to commercialization that is increasingly common in the advanced therapies space.

The Road Ahead: A Pivotal US Trial

With financing secured and a manufacturing strategy in place, all eyes are now on the upcoming Phase III clinical trial in the United States. The company is preparing its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is the final step before the trial can commence in early 2026. A successful outcome in this pivotal study would pave the way for a Biologics License Application (BLA) and potential commercial launch in the world's largest healthcare market.

The company is pursuing a coordinated global regulatory strategy, with a parallel Phase III trial in Japan reportedly nearing completion. This multi-pronged approach demonstrates a clear and determined effort to establish CARTISTEM® as a global standard of care for cartilage repair.

As the biotech investment climate continues to favor companies with late-stage clinical assets and a clear path to market, MEDIPOST's recent success in securing capital is a testament to its progress. For the millions of individuals living with the chronic pain of knee osteoarthritis, the advancement of this regenerative therapy into the final stage of U.S. clinical testing represents a new and tangible source of hope.