JW JoongWai Obtains Australian Patent for Wnt-Targeted Hair Loss Treatment 'JW0061'

Patent Registration in Australia Following Russia

JW Pharmaceutical announced on the 20th that it has obtained a patent from the Australian Patent Office for the Wnt-targeting hair loss treatment 'JW0061'. This is the second patent registration for the substance JW0061, following Russia in March.

JW Choongwae Pharmaceutical Gwacheon Office Building Exterior.
[Photo by JW Choongwae Pharmaceutical]

This patent relates to a new drug candidate for hair loss treatment based on the Wnt signaling pathway, aiming to protect "novel heterocyclic derivatives of JW0061, their salts or isomers, and compositions containing them as active ingredients." JW Pharmaceutical has currently filed patents in more than 10 countries including South Korea, the United States, Europe, Japan, and China.

JW0061 is an innovative new drug candidate that activates the Wnt signaling pathway in the skin and hair follicle stem cells, promoting hair follicle proliferation and hair regeneration. The Wnt signaling pathway plays a crucial role in skin development and hair follicle formation during embryogenesis, and is necessary for skin stem cells to transform into hair follicle stem cells and differentiate into hair follicles. This pathway is also involved in the proliferation of dermal papilla cells located at the root of the hair follicle, which regulate hair growth and maintenance.

JW Pharmaceutical expects JW0061 to be effective for hair loss symptoms such as androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata, as well as to have excellent preventive effects.

Earlier, in November last year, the company participated in the 'Wnt 2022' conference held in Japan and publicly disclosed the preclinical results of JW0061 for the first time. Through preclinical studies, JW Pharmaceutical newly confirmed the mechanism of action whereby JW0061 directly binds to the GFRA1 protein in dermal papilla cells, activating the Wnt signaling pathway. This is the first reported case of a small molecule drug elucidating the mechanism of hair growth action.

Additionally, animal experiment results demonstrating JW0061’s superior hair growth and hair follicle neogenesis effects compared to the placebo group were also disclosed. Hair growth cycles through three stages?anagen, catagen, and telogen?in a repetitive manner, with the anagen phase typically lasting over 50 days on average. Application of JW0061 advanced the entry into the anagen phase by more than 30% (15 days).

JW Pharmaceutical is currently conducting toxicity evaluations under Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulations at global institutions, aiming to start clinical trials of JW0061 in the first half of 2024. Concurrently, the company is working on clinical drug production and optimization studies for transdermal formulations.

A representative from JW Pharmaceutical stated, "The patent for JW0061, a first-in-class new drug candidate, is recognized as a core technology in the global market," and added, "We will develop JW0061 as a global innovative new drug that complements and replaces existing hair loss treatments."

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