Huons selected for three national projects to develop new drugs

Three consortiums led by Korean health care group Huons have been selected for a national project aimed at developing new drugs, the company said Tuesday.

The three consortiums — formed with local biotech firms Surginex, Pinotbio and PearlsInMires, respectively — were selected under the joint new drug pipeline development track of a program promoted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and administered by the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs.

The project supports the joint follow-up development of promising drug pipelines by biotech venture firms and large and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies. A total of 10 projects were selected this year, with Huons participating in three of them.

With Surginex, Huons will develop an mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (LNP) eye drop for intractable diabetic keratopathy. The project will use the biotech venture's proprietary RX-LNP delivery platform. Surginex will handle LNP design and formulation for corneal delivery, while Huons will oversee efficacy and safety validation and development strategy.

With Pinotbio, Huons will advance PBX-004, an ITGB6-targeted antibody-drug conjugate candidate, toward clinical trials. Huons will help develop the Phase 1 protocol and regulatory package and prepare the Investigational New Drug (IND) application.

With PearlsInMires, Huons will jointly develop a subcutaneous formulation of Pearl-101, a peptide anticancer drug for solid tumors with homologous recombination deficiency resistant to poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitors. Huons will support formulation development and IND preparation.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]