Vivozon Selected for Phase 2 Clinical Project of National New Drug Development Program with VVZ-2471

Vivozon, an affiliate of Vivozon Pharmaceutical, announced on November 24 that its investigational new drug candidate for neuropathic pain, "VVZ-2471," has been selected as the final project for the Phase 2 clinical trial stage of the "2025 2nd National New Drug Development Project" led by the National New Drug Development Agency.

Over the next two years, Vivozon will receive research and development support through a matching fund with the government. Based on this, the company aims to strengthen the global competitiveness of VVZ-2471 and accelerate its development.

VVZ-2471 is a first-in-class, non-narcotic therapeutic candidate with a dual mechanism that simultaneously blocks serotonin receptor 2A (5-HT2A) and metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5). It is being developed for patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). PHN has limited treatment options, low response rates to existing drugs, and a high burden of side effects, resulting in significant unmet medical needs for new mechanism therapies.

Vivozon is currently conducting a four-week Phase 2 clinical trial in domestic PHN patients. If positive efficacy and safety results are obtained from this trial, the company plans to expand to a global clinical study based on a 13-week dosing regimen.

The global clinical trial is expected to be conducted in multiple regions, including the United States, Europe, and Asia. This is a strategic decision, considering the limited number of PHN patients available for recruitment domestically. Additionally, in the ongoing Phase 1b clinical trial of VVZ-2471 in the United States, the company aims to secure safety and pharmacokinetic (PK) data to optimize the design of future global Phase 2b/3 trials.

A Vivozon official stated, "The selection of this Phase 2 clinical project under the National New Drug Development Project is a meaningful milestone in the development of VVZ-2471. With government support and our ongoing global development strategy, we will continue the development of PHN therapeutics without disruption."

The National New Drug Development Project is a pan-ministerial national research and development (R&D) initiative launched to strengthen the global competitiveness of the domestic pharmaceutical and bio industries. From 2021, the project will support all stages of new drug development over a 10-year period, with the goals of strengthening the domestic new drug R&D ecosystem, achieving global commercialization outcomes, and generating public interest results in the healthcare sector.

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