Daewoong Pharmaceutical Partners with Noah Biotech to Develop New Drug for Super Bacterial Infections Overcoming Antibiotic Resistance

Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced on the 11th that it has signed a joint research contract with microbial and bio venture company Noah Biotech to develop new antibiotic drugs based on a resistance-overcoming platform. Noah Biotech, established in 2019, is a company specializing in microbial and next-generation biopharmaceutical development. It possesses a library of over 20,000 microbial strains.

Jeon Seung-ho, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical (left), and Park Yong-ho, CEO of Noah Biotech, are posing for a commemorative photo at the joint research contract signing ceremony.
[Photo by Daewoong Pharmaceutical]

Through this contract, the two companies plan to establish a close cooperation process throughout all stages of research and development (R&D) and commercialization of new antibiotic drug candidates. They will first begin initial evaluation studies to identify new antibiotic candidates that overcome resistance, and then continue mid- to long-term collaboration, including clinical trials for validated substances, to develop innovative infection treatment drugs capable of overcoming resistance.

Antibiotics are drugs that inhibit bacterial growth and proliferation, but the increase in antibiotic resistance due to misuse has recently become an urgent issue in the healthcare industry. The World Health Organization (WHO) refers to antibiotic resistance as a "Silent Pandemic" and lists it as one of the top 10 global public health threats. In particular, infections caused by "super bacteria" that can resist any antibiotic have no effective treatment options, and bacterial infections during minor wounds, surgeries, or chemotherapy can lead to death.

When target bacteria develop antibiotic resistance, antibiotics fail to be delivered properly or undergo target mutations or antibiotic inactivation, making treatment difficult. Noah Biotech has developed an ‘Antibiotic Potency Enhancement and Resistance Overcoming Platform’ technology that uses bacterial survival systems to combine novel substances with existing antibiotics, increasing the concentration of antibiotics inside target bacteria to ensure effective delivery.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical stated, "If this technology succeeds, it will restore the efficacy of antibiotics that were difficult to use due to resistance, allowing them to be used again and significantly shortening development time. Additionally, the newly developed antibiotic drugs are expected to be recognized as highly attractive new drugs by global pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies."

Seungho Jeon, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, said, “We are very excited to partner with Noah Biotech, which possesses unique technology in the antibiotic potency enhancement and resistance overcoming platform. Through this joint research, both companies will do their best to develop new antibiotics that overcome resistance and address the unmet needs related to antibiotic resistance that may arise during the treatment of infectious diseases.” Yongho Park, CEO of Noah Biotech, added, “We expect that the joint research with Daewoong Pharmaceutical will be an excellent solution to the problem of antibiotic resistance.”

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