Daewoong Pharmaceutical and KB Biomed Collaborate to Develop Improved Osteoporosis Drug Using Protein Oralization Technology

Utilizing Oral Delivery Platform, Joint Development of Teriparatide Peptide

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Daewoong Pharmaceutical is embarking on the development of an improved oral osteoporosis treatment drug and the creation of a new market through joint development with KB Biomed.

On the 18th, Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced that it had signed a contract with KB Biomed for the joint development and licensing of synthetic peptides or recombinant peptides of the osteoporosis treatment drug 'Teriparatide'.

Through this contract, the two companies will develop the existing Teriparatide injection into an improved oral drug to create a new market. They plan to maintain a close cooperative relationship from the formulation development stage through preclinical and clinical development to commercialization.

KB Biomed will conduct the development of the oral formulation and initial preclinical trials, while Daewoong Pharmaceutical will be responsible for formulation development, manufacturing process technology development, preclinical studies, global clinical trials, and commercialization based on this. The newly filed intellectual property rights will be jointly owned by both companies.

KB Biomed, founded in 2012 by CEO Lee Yong-gyu, a professor at Korea National University of Transportation, possesses technology that converts drugs previously prescribed as injections into oral formulations through its innovative platform. Its strength lies in the platform's applicability to drugs including genes, peptides, and chemicals.

Teriparatide is a recombinant parathyroid hormone (PTH) analog that acts similarly to parathyroid hormone in the body and is used as a bone formation promoter for osteoporosis treatment. Although it shows excellent therapeutic effects in both men and women, the drug has only been developed as an injection so far, is expensive, and has many side effects, limiting its use to patients for whom bone resorption inhibitor treatment is unsuitable or who are at high risk of fractures.

If the commercialization of oral Teriparatide succeeds, it is expected to significantly improve the convenience, which has been pointed out as a limitation of the existing injection form, thereby greatly enhancing patient accessibility. Seung-ho Jeon, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, said, "We are very excited to be able to develop this together as partners with KB Biomed, which possesses an innovative oral platform for various drugs," and added, "Through this contract, we will accelerate the discovery of oral treatments to improve medication convenience for osteoporosis patients."

Lee Yong-gyu, CEO of KB Biomed, stated, "A systematic and effective strategy to target the global osteoporosis treatment market is to develop a targeted oral drug with high bioavailability using the already proven drug Teriparatide," and predicted, "In the future, the development of oral treatments using peptide and protein drugs will be a field where South Korea can lead the global bio market."

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