South Korean pharmaceutical company Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. may have found its footing after its misstep with Sanofi SA in 2020 for efpeglenatide, its glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. On July 31, Hanmi announced that the once-dropped drug would be developed to treat obesity in the Korean population, submitting an IND application to the MFDS on July 28 to examine the once-a-week injection efpeglenatide in a phase III trial.
Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma Inc. is scouting for more novel targeted protein degrader (TPD) therapeutics, having added a research and licensing deal with Peptidream Inc. to its shopping cart filled with TPD promises.
Celloram Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of the Seoul, South Korea-based Medpacto Inc., signed a €160 million (US$175.88 million) licensing deal with Genfit SA to develop Celloram’s inflammasome inhibitor, CLM-022, for liver disease.
Taking strides from its start as a Seoul National University laboratory, South Korea’s Cellid Co. Ltd. said July 24 that the MFDS approved an IND for the global phase III trial for its omicron variant-targeting COVID-19 vaccine called AdCLD-CoV19-1 OMI. Approval from the MFDS comes two months after Cellid filed the IND on May 23 for its adenovirus vector platform vaccine “capable of responding quickly to virus mutations,” the company said.
The HIV journey is a roller coaster of highs and lows for the patients living with HIV and their families and loved ones but also for the community of researchers and clinicians who pour their hearts and souls into the work they do, said speakers at the International AIDS Society (IAS) 2023 conference in Brisbane, Australia.
South Korea’s antitrust agency on July 20 imposed fines of ₩40.9 billion (US$31.9 million) to crack down on 32 pharmaceutical firms charged with colluding on production, distribution and wholesale of vaccines in the country’s immunization program.
Artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery specialist Insilico Medicine Inc. is progressing INS018-055, its lead compound to phase II trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease that results in progressive and irreversible decline in lung function.
Prestige Biopharma Ltd. is mounting efforts to rise rank through the industry with a two-pronged strategy of becoming a global cancer antibody drug developer and contract development and manufacturing organization.
With Aeon Biopharma Inc. listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on July 24, South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is seeking new territory for its beleaguered botulinum toxin (BTX) product, Nabota (Jeuveau or ABP-450 in the U.S). Aeon’s move is expected help expand Nabota beyond aesthetic treatment to include medical conditions such as episodic migraines, cervical dystonia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Sosei Heptares is fulfilling its ambition for growth in the Asia-Pacific region by buying the Japanese and South Korea businesses of Swiss biotech Idorsia Ltd. for ¥65 billion (US$463 million), potentially freeing Idorsia from its struggle to prove its stroke drug, Pivlaz (clazosentan), is effective enough to warrant approval in key Western markets.