[Featured Stock] Medicox Surges on Blood Cancer Drug Clinical Trial Hopes... Expanding Indications to Solid Tumors

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Medicox is showing strong performance. Its subsidiary, Mecox Curemed, has completed the submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for clinical trials of the oral anticancer drug ‘Mecbentu,’ which appears to have influenced the stock price.

As of 9:44 AM on the 7th, Medicox is trading at 3,400 KRW, up 11.66% from the previous day.

The anticancer drug ‘Mecbentu,’ for which Mecox Curemed is advancing clinical trials, is a new drug that changes the administration route by developing the existing injectable anticancer drug Bendamustine into an oral form. It is expected to treat a wide range of hematologic cancers such as follicular lymphoma, lymphocytic leukemia, and multiple myeloma.

According to market research firm Polaris Market Research, the global hematologic cancer treatment market is projected to grow to approximately $87 billion USD (about 107 trillion KRW) by 2025.

During the development of ‘Mecbentu,’ Mecox Curemed applied its proprietary drug delivery platform technology based on the cyclodextrin (Cyclodextrin) method of DDS (Drug Delivery System) for drug formulation.

A representative from Mecox Curemed explained, "Mecbentu applies DDS-based drug formulation technology that significantly improves treatment efficacy and convenience compared to the existing treatment (Bendamustine), which required patient hospitalization for two consecutive days of administration."

They added, "It was developed as the first oral anticancer drug that enhances stability and increases half-life," and "We plan to expand indications targeting hematologic cancers to solid tumors in the future."

The clinical trial involves Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, recognized as one of the world’s top five hospitals in hematologic oncology, along with Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital. The trial will evaluate the drug safety, pharmacokinetic characteristics, and clinical efficacy of ‘Mecbentu’ in 30 patients with hematologic lymphoma, comparing it with the existing injectable Bendamustine.

The company expects to accelerate global clinical trials in the US, Europe, Australia, and other regions. Mecox Curemed previously began production of ‘Mecbentu’ for global clinical trials through Haupt Pharma Amareg GmbH, a global pharmaceutical manufacturing company based in Germany, in July.

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