SK Chemicals Signs Joint Research Agreement with Oncovix to Develop Innovative New Drugs

by Lee Gwanju

Published 20 Apr.2022 09:04(KST)

At the Oncobics headquarters located in Yongin, Gyeonggi, Kim Jeong-hoon, Head of R&D Center at SK Chemicals (left), and Kim Seong-eun, CEO of Oncobics, are shaking hands after signing an agreement.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] SK Chemicals announced on the 20th that it has signed a joint research agreement with synthetic new drug company Oncobix to officially begin collaborative research on innovative new drugs.

According to the agreement, Oncobix will derive new drug candidate substances and conduct synthesis research based on its innovative new drug development platform ‘TOPFOMICS,’ while SK Chemicals will carry out overall tasks necessary for commercialization, including verification, development, and regulatory approval of the derived candidate substances.

Oncobix is recognized as a company specialized in new drug development based on synthetic technology, possessing its proprietary new drug development platform TOPFOMICS. Based on its library of 2.56 million compounds, it identifies drugs that effectively respond to diseases and, through an organic process involving feasibility evaluation and optimized molecular structure implementation, enhances the success potential and efficiency of new drug R&D.

Using this platform, Oncobix has derived the fourth-generation lung cancer treatment candidate ‘OBX02-011,’ which is about to enter clinical trials following preclinical studies. Recently, ‘OBX02-011’ presented preclinical data on EGFR activating mutations, double mutations, and triple mutations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

SK Chemicals plans to strengthen its R&D portfolio in the innovative new drug field through collaboration with Oncobix. The two companies will concretize their first joint research projects focusing on diseases with unmet needs or lacking suitable treatments, such as fibrosis and cancer, and gradually expand the scope of their cooperation in the future.

Kim Jung-hoon, Head of SK Chemicals’ R&D Center, said, “Innovative new drugs are challenging to develop because the drug structures with verified safety and efficacy are not clearly identified, but it is a task that must be accomplished to improve human health. Through open innovation, we will minimize uncertainties and risks in innovative new drug development and rapidly advance the development process.”

Kim Sung-eun, CEO of Oncobix, stated, “SK Chemicals is a company with top-level development capabilities in Korea, achieving R&D results across a wide range of fields including synthetic new drugs, natural products, and bio. We will strive to secure innovative new drugs in various fields by combining Oncobix’s platform with SK Chemicals’ development know-how.”

SK Chemicals is actively pursuing open innovation by collaborating externally on technologies and infrastructure that the company does not possess. It is conducting research targeting diseases such as alcoholic steatohepatitis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and rheumatoid arthritis through partnerships with AI companies like Standigm, Dr. Noah, Simplex, and Deargen, and has also been collaborating with synthetic new drug companies such as J2H Biotech.