117 National New Drug Development Projects Selected This Year... Pipelines to Watch from CAR-T to Exosomes

Many Selected Bio Venture Companies
Full-Cycle Support Including Research and Clinical Trial Funding
Accelerated New Drug Development...Diverse Candidate Substances

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] As the importance of pharmaceutical sovereignty has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, national-level support for new drug development is actively underway. So far this year, more than 100 projects have been selected in three rounds, with many new drug pipelines, including next-generation therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies and exosome therapies, drawing attention.

According to the pharmaceutical and bio industry on the 4th, the Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF) selected a total of 117 projects (40 in the 1st round, 30 in the 2nd round, and 47 in the 3rd round) through the 1st to 3rd national new drug development project announcements this year. The national new drug development project is a cross-ministerial national research and development (R&D) initiative that supports the entire process of new drug development to strengthen the global competitiveness of the pharmaceutical and bio industry and secure pharmaceutical sovereignty. Selected projects receive support including research and clinical expenses, industry-academia collaboration necessary for new drug development, workforce training, and patents.

In particular, it provides significant support to bio ventures that have the technology but often face practical issues such as funding. Looking at the types of lead institutions for the selected projects, bio ventures accounted for 72% (29 projects) in the 1st round, 56% (17 projects) in the 2nd round, and 79% (37 projects) in the 3rd round. The types of candidate substances for the selected projects cover a wide range including small molecules, antibodies, recombinant proteins, drug conjugates, peptides, and gene therapies.

Given the rigorous selection process, the new drug candidates are also noteworthy. Appclon is receiving support for clinical trials of its CAR-T cell therapy ‘AT101’. Currently, CAR-T therapies represented by Kymriah show remarkable therapeutic effects in blood cancers with just a single administration, earning the nickname “miracle anticancer drug.” AT101 is evaluated to have differentiation by acting on a different antigen-binding site than currently approved CAR-T therapies. An Appclon representative said, “Through this government project, we expect to provide patients with various treatment opportunities with a domestically developed CAR-T new drug and create a foothold to challenge the exponentially growing global CAR-T therapy market.”

Ilias Biologics was selected for its inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) exosome therapy research and development project and will receive support worth 1.2 billion KRW. Through this, they plan to accelerate the development of a new mechanism exosome therapy that inhibits the interaction between ‘CARD9’ and ‘TRIM62’, which are known to induce intestinal immune inflammatory responses, a pathogenic mechanism of IBD.

GI Innovation had two projects selected this year: clinical trials for the immuno-oncology candidate ‘GI-101’ and nonclinical studies for ‘GI-108’. Especially for GI-101, they will receive up to 7 billion KRW in research support over two years to select the optimal indication in phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, aiming to enter phase 2b/3 trials or technology transfer. Jang Myung-ho, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of new drug development at GI Innovation, said, “With the core clinical trials progressing smoothly, this project selection is expected to provide more momentum to the clinical trials. We will accelerate efforts to enable early technology transfer to global pharmaceutical companies.”

Future Medicine is pushing forward global phase 2 clinical trials for ‘FM101’, an oral glaucoma treatment candidate. Seedmozen received selection for the gene therapy candidate ‘CRG-02’ for macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, receiving a total of 1.5 billion KRW over 22 months, aiming for clinical trial application (IND) approval by the end of next year. Voronoi’s next-generation precision targeted therapy for non-small cell lung cancer, ‘VRN11’, was selected for nonclinical support and will receive 1.2 billion KRW in preclinical research and development funding over two years.

An industry official said, “Being selected for the national new drug development project not only recognizes the development potential but also provides funding necessary for research and clinical trials, which greatly helps bio ventures in new drug development,” adding, “As the importance of securing pharmaceutical sovereignty grows, it is necessary to expand future support so that promising new drugs can be developed more actively.”

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