JW Jungwoo Pharmaceutical Begins Development of Next-Generation Targeted Anticancer Drug

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] JW Pharmaceutical announced on the 22nd that it has signed a license agreement with its subsidiary C&C New Drug Research Institute for the commercialization of next-generation targeted anticancer drugs.

Through this agreement, JW Pharmaceutical acquired the rights to all related substances, including ST-2286 (code name), which targets STAT3, discovered by C&C New Drug Research Institute.

STAT3 is a protein (transcription factor) that promotes the expression of numerous genes involved in cancer cell growth, proliferation, metastasis, and drug resistance formation. ST-2286 is an innovative new drug candidate with a novel mechanism that inhibits STAT3, targeting solid tumors such as triple-negative breast cancer, gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer.

According to preclinical trial evaluations conducted by C&C New Drug Research Institute, ST-2286 demonstrated excellent selectivity for STAT3 and showed higher efficacy and safety compared to existing standard therapies in various solid tumor types with STAT3 activity as a biomarker. It showed particularly strong efficacy against triple-negative breast cancer.

JW Pharmaceutical plans to proceed with non-clinical trials and drug production research for the STAT3-targeted anticancer drug, aiming to start Phase 1 clinical trials in 2023.

A JW Pharmaceutical official stated, “Although it is known that STAT3 is closely related to tumor occurrence, growth, and metastasis, there have been no successful cases of developing STAT3-targeted anticancer drugs yet. Since ST-2286 has demonstrated excellent anticancer effects both as a monotherapy and in combination therapies in various cell lines and animal models, we expect it to be developed as an innovative new drug that addresses unmet medical needs.”

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