Ildong Pharmaceutical Announces Development of Oral Treatments for Diabetes and Obesity... Phase 1 Plan Approved

Ildong Pharmaceutical announced on the 6th that it has obtained approval for a clinical trial plan for a new drug substance with a glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonist mechanism, which has recently attracted attention as the market for diabetes and obesity treatments rapidly grows, and will begin full-scale development work.

Ildong Pharmaceutical Headquarters Exterior [Photo by Ildong Pharmaceutical]

On the 5th, Ildong Pharmaceutical announced on the 6th that it received approval for the Phase 1 clinical trial plan (IND) of ‘ID110521156,’ a new drug candidate in the metabolic disease field. This clinical trial will evaluate the tolerability, safety, and pharmacokinetic characteristics of ‘ID110521156’ in healthy adults. Depending on the progress of clinical development and commercialization efforts, the plan is to develop it as an oral drug targeting type 2 diabetes and obesity in the future.

ID110521156 is a drug in the GLP-1 receptor agonist class that acts as an analog of the GLP-1 hormone, which induces insulin secretion in the body to regulate blood glucose levels. Due to these effects of the GLP-1 hormone, related drugs were initially developed as diabetes treatments, but as additional effects such as appetite suppression in the brain and delayed gastric emptying were confirmed, these treatments have been expanding their indications to obesity. Recently prominent drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Saxenda (liraglutide) and Wegovy (semaglutide), and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide) are all GLP-1 class diabetes and obesity treatments.

ID110521156 is a new compound with the same function as the GLP-1 hormone and is characterized by having a low molecular weight compared to biologic peptide-based drugs that currently lead the GLP-1 market. It is also structurally stable. Ildong Pharmaceutical plans to leverage the efficacy, safety, and stability advantages derived from the structural characteristics of this substance to develop it as an oral formulation drug, which differs from existing mainly injectable drugs, offering benefits in terms of marketability and dosing convenience.

An Ildong Pharmaceutical representative stated, “In efficacy and toxicity evaluations using disease animal models, ID110521156 demonstrated not only efficacy related to insulin secretion and blood glucose regulation but also superior safety compared to competing drugs in the same class. Currently, active discussions on partnerships such as license-outs with numerous global pharmaceutical companies are underway. To secure favorable conditions for commercialization and rights acquisition, patent registrations or applications have been completed for major markets including Korea, the United States, Europe, China, and Japan.”

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