Dandi Biosciences Selected for National Project on Superbug Therapeutics... "Attracting New Drug Development Funding"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Next Science subsidiary Dandi Bioscience announced on the 7th that it has secured a new drug development fund worth a total of 2.05 billion KRW (2 years and 9 months) by winning a national project from the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2020. The related technology (substance) obtained domestic and international foundational technology patents in March.

CEO Youngmin Park stated, “The peptide-based new drug technology (DD-S052) for treating multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (superbugs) under development was selected for the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s infectious disease prevention and treatment technology development project’s ‘Unresolved Therapeutic Challenge Technology Development Research Project.’” He explained, “The goal of this project is to complete the preclinical trials of the multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria treatment pipeline within three years and finalize the IND (Investigational New Drug) application process for FDA new drug approval in the United States.”

The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s project aims to support candidate substances for superbug infection treatment up to the clinical trial approval stage at a global level. Based on efficacy and safety evaluations of superbugs isolated from clinical settings, the project’s final goal is to complete preclinical trials of the candidate substances, develop pharmaceutical manufacturing processes, and enter FDA clinical trials.

The project is led by Professor Youngkyung Yoon of Korea University College of Medicine, an infectious disease specialist, as the principal investigator. Professor Yangmi Kim of Konkuk University, a world-renowned authority in the field of antibiotic peptides, conducts research on the secondary detailed mechanism of action. Deputy Director Induk Jung of Dandi Bioscience (the third detailed research director) will oversee the preclinical stage of the project.

Dandi Bioscience is a new drug development bio-pharmaceutical venture founded in 2016 by Professor Youngmin Park of Konkuk University Graduate School of Medicine. CEO Park has devoted over 30 years to immunology research, focusing on discovering new drug candidates that can regulate sepsis. The company’s main businesses are developing sepsis treatments, immune enhancers, and related anticancer drug delivery platforms. For the superbug antibiotic candidate substances under the national project, technology transfer is expected around the time of entering Phase 2 clinical trials.

CEO Youngmin Park said, “Dandi Bioscience will build the HBS (HLB Bio eco-System) together with its largest shareholder Next Science, HLB and HLB Life Science with global clinical experience, and the U.S. company Immunomic Therapeutics to seek mutual growth.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.