SN Bioscience Co. Ltd., headquartered in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do’s second Pangyo Valley, gained U.S. FDA fast track designation for SNB-101 (SN-38), its new polymer nanoparticle cancer drug candidate for small-cell lung cancer.

As South Korea’s Curocell Inc. looks to develop the country’s first homegrown CAR T-cell therapy, CEO Gunsoo Kim highlighted rising and falling trends in the global CAR T development space at Bio Korea 2024.

SN Bioscience Co. Ltd., headquartered in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do’s second Pangyo Valley, gained U.S. FDA fast track designation for SNB-101 (SN-38), its new polymer nanoparticle cancer drug candidate for small-cell lung cancer.

As the average cost of new drug R&D continues to skyrocket, the perception around using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to boost drug discovery is changing. “Developing new AI-based drugs is a difficult task, not only for Korea but also for countries with leading AI technology,” Hyeyun Jung, principal researcher of Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s Center for Health Industry Policy, told the audience at the Bio Korea meeting on May 9. “But there is a change in perception; [namely that] applying AI to new drug development is not an option but a necessity.”

Tiumbio Co. Ltd., of Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, reported positive phase IIa top-line data on May 8 for Merigolix, its lead asset to reduce pain in female patients with moderate to severe endometriosis.

Homerun success of Novo Nordisk A/S’ semaglutide, which recently became the U.S.’s biggest blockbuster drug, is serving as an “inflection point” for obesity therapeutics and fueling the drive for new and improved therapies, speakers said at Bio Korea 2024 on May 8.

South Korea’s HK Inno.N Corp. said on May 2 that it gained exclusive development and commercial rights to Hangzhou, China-based Sciwind Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s once-weekly, injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, XW-003 (ecnoglutide), in South Korea to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Philadelphia-based Latus Bio Inc., co-founded by serial biotech entrepreneurs P. Peter Ghoroghchian and Beverly Davidson, launched on May 2 with two lead adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy candidates and $54 million in a series A financing.

South Korea’s HK Inno.N Corp. said on May 2 that it gained exclusive development and commercial rights to Hangzhou, China-based Sciwind Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s once-weekly, injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, XW-003 (ecnoglutide), in South Korea to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.