Daewon Pharmaceutical's 'Kodaewon S Syrup' Wins New Drug Development Technology Award

Daewon Pharmaceutical's antitussive and expectorant 'Kodaewon S Syrup'
[Photo by Daewon Pharmaceutical]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Daewon Pharmaceutical announced on the 22nd that its 5-combination compound antitussive and expectorant syrup, ‘Kodaewon S Syrup,’ the first of its kind developed in Korea, has won the Technology Award in the New Drug Development category at the 24th Korea New Drug Development Award (KNDA). The award ceremony will be held on the 24th at the Samjung Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Organized by the Korea New Drug Development Association and sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the KNDA was established in 1999 to promote the development of Korea’s biohealth industry and encourage enthusiasm for new drug research and development (R&D), as well as to commemorate the achievements of companies successful in developing high value-added new drugs and those creating new technologies or exporting technologies. The winners are selected through an objective and rigorous evaluation process conducted over three rounds, assessing eligibility criteria, novelty, technological level, added value, technology and market competitiveness, and contribution to public health improvement.

Kodaewon S Syrup is a compound formulation consisting of five ingredients: dihydrocodeine, chlorpheniramine, methylephedrine, ammonium chloride, and Pelargonium sidoides, a natural herbal ingredient with antibacterial and antiviral effects. Launched in 2020, it is the first 5-combination antitussive and expectorant syrup that combines both Western medicine and herbal ingredients. In its third year since launch, last year it surpassed 30 billion KRW in sales, rapidly becoming a blockbuster product.

Each ingredient has effects such as cough suppression, antihistamine action, bronchial dilation, and expectorant action, but increasing the dosage or adding other ingredients to enhance efficacy could lead to dependency, raising concerns about misuse and risks of side effects. Daewon Pharmaceutical explained, “By adding herbal ingredients with confirmed safety, we developed a product that is both safe and superior in efficacy.”

In a Phase 3 clinical trial comparing the efficacy and safety of Kodaewon S Syrup with existing dihydrocodeine combination drugs and Pelargonium as control groups, the total Bronchitis Severity Score (BSS), which comprehensively evaluates bronchitis symptoms, significantly decreased on the 4th day compared to the control groups. Significant symptom improvement was observed in BSS change rate, treatment response rate, treatment efficacy, and treatment satisfaction.

Previously, Daewon Pharmaceutical received the KNDA Technology Award at the 10th ceremony in 2009 for ‘Pelubi Tablets,’ Korea’s 12th domestic new drug, and again at the 17th ceremony in 2016 for ‘Pelubi Sustained-release Tablets.’ With this award for Kodaewon S Syrup, the company’s excellent R&D capabilities have been recognized once again.

Baek Seung-yeol, Vice Chairman of Daewon Pharmaceutical, said, “We are pleased that the safety and excellence of Kodaewon S Syrup have been recognized through this award,” adding, “We hope that Kodaewon S Syrup, which has established itself as a flagship product of the company, will continue to help improve the quality of life for patients with respiratory diseases.”

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