Daewoong Bio Selected as 'World Class Plus' by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy... 2.5 Billion KRW Support Over 4 Years

Utilizing Continuous Flow and Enzyme Process Technologies
"Leading the Way in Overseas Market Expansion"

Daewoong Bio announced on the 24th that it was selected for the 'World Class Plus' project, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, on the 20th.

Daewoong Bio Factory Exterior. [Photo by Daewoong Bio]

World Class Plus is a project by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy that comprehensively supports companies with growth ambitions and innovative research and development (R&D) capabilities through export financing, overseas marketing, certification, and more. This year, the ministry evaluated promising export-leading companies based on global top technologies and proprietary core technologies, selecting a total of 16 companies. Daewoong Bio will receive approximately 2.5 billion KRW in government support over four years through this project.

Daewoong Bio received high evaluations for two technologies: continuous flow process and enzyme process. The continuous flow process is a technology for eco-friendly and automated production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The enzyme process was introduced to enhance competitiveness in the production of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA).

The continuous flow process is an integrated process system where drug production steps are combined into a single continuous system without the need to stop and handle each stage separately. Additionally, it can safely and effectively control high-risk material reactions and extreme condition reactions (high temperature, low temperature) that were previously difficult to manage. Daewoong Bio explained that this process allows for continuous small-scale production, preventing accidents such as explosions and fires caused by hazardous material reactions.

Using continuous flow process technology, Daewoong Bio plans to stably supply the raw material for 'Inavogliflozin,' the active ingredient in Daewoong Pharmaceutical's sodium-glucose co-transporter (SGLT)-2 inhibitor class diabetes treatment drug 'Envlo.' The company expects that SGLT-2 class diabetes treatments will achieve concrete results in the global diabetes treatment market in the future.

The enzyme process technology is a method developed by Daewoong Bio that produces UDCA, the main ingredient in Daewoong Pharmaceutical's liver function improvement drug 'Urusa.' This enzyme process is an eco-friendly method that minimizes waste and increases productivity during production. Daewoong Bio expects it to lead to the provision of high-purity raw materials and increased production volume.

Daewoong Bio plans to strengthen the development of core technologies for the continuous flow process and enhance business competitiveness through enzyme process technology, leveraging this government support. Furthermore, the company aims to nurture the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and contract manufacturing organization (CMO) businesses for active pharmaceutical ingredients as future growth engines.

Kim Young-min, head of Daewoong Bio's Synthetic Research Institute, said, "Being selected for the World Class Plus project is a great opportunity for Daewoong Bio to further develop production core technologies in the domestic active pharmaceutical ingredient field and pioneer overseas markets. We will use the World Class Plus project as a stepping stone to strengthen our R&D technological competitiveness."

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