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- 2026-03-14 11:09:48
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- Yuhan’s Q1 operating profit rose fourfold this year
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Apr 27, 2023 05:43am
- Yuhan Corp showed improved performance in Q1 compared to the previous year. A large amount of revenue from contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) royalties flowed in from its subsidiary Ad Pharma. Yuhan Corp announced on the 26th that operating profit based on its consolidated financial statements in Q1 was KRW 22.6 billion, which is a 3.7-fold increase from the KRW 6.1 billion in the same period of the previous year. Sales were KRW 443 billion, up 7.8% from the previous year. Yuhan Corp Its royalty revenue has increased significantly from KRW 1.5 billion in Q1 last year to KRW 7.2 billion. Yuhan Corp has signed licensing-out deals for new drug technologies from 5 global pharmacuetical companies including Janssen Biotech, Gilead Bioscience, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Processa Pharmaceuticals. Other than Processa Pharmaceuticals which had paid its upfront payment with stock, the company is recognizing the upfront payment and milestone payments from the other 4 companies in installments. In Q1, CDMO royalties have come in from its subsidiary Ad Pharma. Ad Pharma is a company specializing in the development of incrementally modified drugs. Ad Pharma has recently developed a rosuvastatin+ezetimibe combination and obtained consignment approvals from Jeil Pharmaceutical and GC Pharm. The company had also acquired Ad Pharma, a company specializing in incrementally modified drugs, for KRW 3 billion in 2017 and invested an additional KRW 7 billion last year. As of the end of last year, Yuhan Corp.'s stake in Ad Pharma was 67.7%. Yuhan Corp’s flagship businesses, including prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs, also performed well. Sales of Yuhan Corp’s prescriptions in Q1 had increased 8.0% YoY from KRW 261 billion. Its diabetes treatment Jardiance rose 63.6% YoY to KRW 17.9 billion, and its hyperlipidemia treatment rosuvamibe made KRW 16.2 billion, recording a 63.6% rise in sales. Its over-the-counter drug sales have also increased 6.2% from the previous year to record KRW 55 billion. Sales of its non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug antiphlamine rose 28.5 % from KRW 6.1 billion last year to KRW 7.7 billion. Its overseas sales in Q1 had also increased 24.3% from the previous year to a record KRW 69.2 billion. Yuhan Corp purchases APIs medicines produced by Yuhan Chemical and exports them to multinational pharmaceutical companies.
- Company
- GSK, cash equivalents of 250,000 won
- by Jung, Sae-Im Apr 27, 2023 05:41am
- GSK Korea's cash flow is rapidly deteriorating. It has not been able to generate cash through operating activities for three consecutive years, so money is not circulating. Cash equivalents fell to 250,000 won. Short-term borrowings borrowed to raise operating funds exceeded 90 billion won. According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 24th, as of the end of last year, GSK Korea's cash and cash equivalents were 250,000 won, a decrease of about 100% from the previous year (15.1 billion won). Cash and cash equivalents, which were 33.2 billion won in 2018, gradually decreased to 14.9 billion won in 2019 and 6.1 billion won in 2020, and then bottomed out in 5 years. The company's cash equivalents bottomed out because cash outflows from operating activities continued for the third consecutive year. GSK Korea's cash flow from operating activities turned to an outflow of 3.6 billion won in 2020, and the amount of outflow soared to 36.5 billion won in 2021. Last year, the situation worsened with an outflow of 80.6 billion won. Looking at last year's operating cash flow excluding interest and corporate tax, the increase in trade receivables and inventories had a negative impact last year. According to GSK Korea's 'change in assets and liabilities due to operating activities' account, there was no cash flow of 24.7 billion won due to an increase in trade receivables. Accounts receivable refers to the amount of money sold by a company on credit. If sales increase on the books due to selling goods, but actual cash does not come in due to credit transactions, it is marked with a minus sign (-). The larger the negative value, the greater the number of credit transactions without payment. Compared to the previous year (6.2 billion won), account receivables increased by 30 billion won. Inventories also increased by 22.1 billion won from the previous year. GSK Korea purchases finished products from the headquarters, stocks them up, and sells them in Korea. Last year, the company suffered a cash outflow of 37.9 billion won because it could not sell goods as much as its inventory increased. As the working capital burden increased, GSK Korea's trade receivables and other receivables (accounts receivable) reached 158.7 billion won at the end of last year based on book value. This is a 19% increase over the previous year. During the same period, inventory increased by 70% from 77.7 billion won to 132.3 billion won. Companies running out of cash are raising operating funds with short-term borrowings that must be repaid within one year. GSK Korea, which borrowed 50 billion won in 2021, borrowed an additional 41.5 billion won last year. It also carried out a paid-in capital increase of 28.2 billion won. GSK headquarters and affiliate Stiefel participated in the paid-in capital increase. In particular, while new short-term borrowings have soared to 91.5 billion won in the last two years, liquidity concerns have grown as the cash equivalents currently held are only 250,000 won. Currently, short-term borrowings amount to 380,000 times cash equivalents. Trade and other debt liabilities to be paid within one year were also tallied at 39.3 billion won. To make matters worse, sales also declined last year due to the absence of new products and the suspension of vaccine supply. As the cost of sales increased, the operating profit also turned to the red. Last year, sales decreased by 9.4% from the previous year (304.4 billion won), and operating profit turned into a loss of -6.1 billion won. GSK Korea is trying to turn things around this year with Shingrix, a new shingles vaccine. Although Shingrix is more expensive than existing vaccines, it has changed the game in the global market with its overwhelmingly high preventive effect. Shingrix, which was officially released in Korea in December last year, is being sold in earnest in hospitals and clinics this year.
- Company
- GSK launches 90 cap pkg of Duodart for prostatic hyperplasia
- by Jung, Sae-Im Apr 27, 2023 05:40am
- GSK Korea (Robert Kempton, CEO of Korean corporation) announced on the 24th that it will release a 90-capsule large-capacity package of Duodart, a treatment for prostatic hyperplasia. With this release, one package can be taken for three months. The recommended dosage of Duodart is 1 capsule once daily. The Duodart 90-capsule package was sequentially supplied to wholesalers nationwide starting this month. Duodart is a 5α-reductase inhibitor (Dutasteride) + α-blocker (Tamsulosin hydrochloride) fixed-dose combination drug that was first released in Korea. The two ingredients are contained in one capsule to improve symptoms quickly and reduce the long-term risk of disease progression. It can be expected to improve medication compliance, such as minimizing the frequency of drug use, reducing the possibility of patient omissions, and simplifying treatment schedules. With the launch of this large-capacity package, GSK Korea plans to continue its efforts to improve medication compliance, which is inevitable in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Prostatic hyperplasia is a chronic disease whose prevalence increases with age, and it is known that elderly patients are at high risk of taking multiple drugs that require attention. Multidrug use can lead to non-compliance with medications, and low medication compliance in patients with BPH has a high risk of complications such as acute urinary retention, renal failure, neurogenic bladder, BPH-related surgery, urinary tract infection, and stone formation. Lee Dong-hun, executive director of GSK Korea CEP (Core Established Products for Patients) BU Head, said, “Duodart, the first 5α-reductase inhibitor and α blocker fixed-dose combination drug in Korea, is designed to help patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia in Korea more conveniently and effectively manage their disease. I will do my best,” he said.
- Company
- Generic SPC therapies challenge 'Trajenta'
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Apr 25, 2023 05:56am
- Product photo of Trajenta Major generic companies are challenging the unlisted patent of 'Trajenta (linagliptin)', a DPP-4 inhibitor-based diabetes treatment. For 6 months since last September, 10 pharmaceutical companies have successively filed trials on 7 patents. It is believed that the companies are aiming for the release of Trajenta generics and Trajenta+Forxiga (dapagliflozin) combination products, as the product patent expires next year. According to the pharmaceutical industry, Sinil Pharmaceutical, Hutecs Korea Pharmaceutical and Hanlim Pharm recently simultaneously filed a defensive confirmation trial for the scope of rights and invalidation trial on three unlisted patents, on the 24th. The patents are for separate formulation patents that expires in April 2027. Since last September, challenges to unlisted patents of Trajenta have been continuing. In September of last year, Genuone Sciences have first filed for a defensive confirmation trial for the scope of rights against a formulation patent that expires in April 2027. Since then, Korea United Pharm, Korea Biochem Pharm, Sinil Pharmaceutical, Hutecs Korea Pharmaceutical, Hanlim Pharm, etc. have joined the challenge. In last October, Genuone Sciences, Boryung, Mother's Pharmaceutical, Kukje Pharm, and GC Biopharma have filed for invalidation trials against three different use patents of Trajenta, which expires in May 2027. In the last 7 months, 10 generic companies have challenged 7 unlisted patents of Trajenta. The patents are not listed in the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Patent List. From the generic companies' standpoint, there is no problem in obtaining approval for a generic without challenging the patents. However, the matter becomes different when it comes to releasing an actual product. Administratively, it is possible to release a product at the time of the expiration of the patent, but there is a risk of being involved in a patent infringement lawsuit with the company of the original product. If the original company files for a patent infringement lawsuit as well as an injunction to prevent the release of the general product, the release date of the product may be delayed. This is because if the patent infringement lawsuit is lost, it could lead to a damages suit. It seems that the generic companies are challenging unlisted patents of Trajenta to resolve such uncertainties. If they succeed in avoiding or invalidating the unlisted patents of Trajenta, it could trigger the early release of generics after the product patent of Trajenta expires in June next year. In 2015, generic companies simultaneously challenged the crystalline form patent and product patent of Trajenta. However, they failed to overcome the product patent. The companies plan to release generics in June next year, as the product patent of Trajenta expires. The fact that the patent for Forxiga, an SGLT-2 inhibitor-based diabetes treatment, expired in March also seems to be a reason why generic companies are challenging an all-out attack on the unlisted patents of Trajenta. As reimbursement has recently been applied to DPP-4 inhibitors, SGLT-2 inhibitors and Metformin combination triple therapies, the combination therapy of such ingredients are expected to attract tremendous attention in the prescription drug market. It is expected that the generic companies will be releasing combination products of 'Linagliptin+Dapagliflozin' as the patent for Trajenta expires. Among major DPP-4 inhibitor-based diabetes treatments, the patents for Norvatis's Galvus (Vildagliptin) and Handok's Tenelia (Teneligliptin) have been expired. However, generic companies have been greatly interested in Januvia (Sitagliptin) and Trajenta, as the two were ranking first and second in the prescription drug market among the existing DPP-4 inhibitors. The product patent for Januvia will be expired in September this year. According to UBIST, a pharmaceutical market research institute, the prescription amount of Trajenta last year was KRW 64.2 billion. Trajenta Duo, in which metformin was added to Trajenta, recorded a prescription performance of KRW 68.3 billion.
- Company
- BeiGene’s ‘Brukinsa’ to be prescribed in general hospital
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Apr 25, 2023 05:56am
- Chinese pharmaceutical company BeiGene Korea's first new drug, 'Brukinsa', has been approved to be prescribed in general hospitals. According to sources from related industry, the BTK inhibitor Brukinsa (Zanubrutinib) has passed the Drug Committee of tertiary hospitals such as Samsung Medical Center, SNUH, and Asan Medical Center. As reimbursement is expected to be applied in May, it is believed that prescriptions will be available quite soon after being listed. Brukinsa has been approved in Korea in 2022, as ▲ monotherapy for adults with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who have received at least one prior therapy, and ▲ monotherapy for adults with Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia (WM) who have received at least one prior therapy. Among them, reimbursement is for the 'Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia' indication. After approval, only the reimbursement standard for WM was introduced and has been set at the HIRA's Review Committee for Cancer Diseases. In September of the same year, the company tried to add MCL to the list, but the results were not good. Since then, Brukinsa passed the Drug Benefit Evaluation Committee in February of this year and has recently concluded drug price negotiation and is set to be finally listed. Brukinsa is a targeted anticancer medicine that inhibits the survival and proliferation of malignant B cells by blocking the Bruton's tyrosine kinase protein, a signaling molecule that affects the survival and development of B cells. BTK inhibitors approved in Korea include Janssen's Imbruvica (Ibrutinib), AstraZeneca's Calquence (Acalabrutinib), and Ono Pharmaceutical's Velexbru (Tirabrutinib).
- Company
- The atopic dermatitis tx market has grown into children
- by Hwang, byoung-woo Apr 24, 2023 05:53am
- Product photos of major atopic treatments Competition in the atopic dermatitis treatment market is intensifying again as new treatments have been made into health insurance benefits one after another. This is because salaries for severe atopic treatments have been expanded from April to children and adolescents. More fierce competition for market share is expected because the demand is high enough to insist on continuously expanding salaries in the clinical field. Experts say that Dupixent and Rinvoq, which directly benefited from the expansion of the salary range, have different characteristics, the choice of clinical sites will also depend on the patient's situation. According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 14th, competition among pharmaceutical companies has been accelerating as the scope of benefits for severe atopic treatments has been expanded from April to children and adolescents. Previously, patients with severe atopic dermatitis in children and adolescents over the age of 6 had a high burden of disease, but limited treatment options that could be used safely in the long run. TCS and Cyclosporine are mainly used to treat atopic dermatitis in children. Patients with moderate-severe atopic dermatitis needed additional systemic treatment because it did not improve with local treatments. Still, there were concerns about local side effects when using even low-grade TCS for a long time in thin skin areas. In addition, in the case of pediatric atopy, it was pointed out that it was difficult to use treatments strongly due to growth and development, so it was not in line with reality to apply for the existing special calculation benefits. "Symptoms such as severe itching caused by atopic dermatitis can have a greater negative impact than adults, such as hindering adolescents' growth and studies," said Woo Sang-wook, chairman of the Korea Atopic Dermatitis Association (KOREA University Ansan Hospital). Dupixent is expected to be most affected by the expansion of the salary range. In the case of Rinvoq, the salary target has increased for teenagers aged 12 or older, while Dupixent has a wider benefit standard for those aged 6 or older. Looking at the new standards for severe atopic patients in children and adolescents, the salary standards for adolescents are the same as those for adults aged 18 or older. The Dupixent benefit standard for children aged 6-11 is relatively low in cases where the ecological severity evaluation index (EASI) is 21 or higher before the start of ▲ Dupixent administration for more than 4 weeks, or cannot be used as a side effect. Chairman Son said, "There will be no major difficulty in using Dupixent because it uses topical treatment for 4 weeks in pediatric atopy and immunotherapy is included in the standard." Then, how will the choice of the clinical site be divided into the severe atopy of adolescents where Dupixent and Rinvoq will face off? Experts predicted that prescriptions would be made considering the method of administration, the speed of effectiveness, and safety according to the patient's condition. Ahn Ji-young, a professor of dermatology at NMC, said, "Since they are children, I think there will be more considerations than adults, such as preferences depending on how they think of injections and the burden of visiting the hospital." Along with this, the part that can be considered is the drug price. This is why Dupixent is expected to cost up to 1.33 million won to 1.74 million won although the patient's burden will be greatly reduced at the time of application. In the case of Rinvoq, it costs 60,300 won based on the premise that a month is 30 days with a drug price of KRW 20,010 per day of 15 mg. If 10% of the calculation special case is applied here, the patient burden is 60,030 won, which costs 72,360 won when converted into a year, so the patient burden is less than Dupixent. "It is true that Rinvoq has a few hundred thousand won less burden on patients compared to Dupixent," said a professor of pediatrics at A University Hospital. "However, I don't think there is a big difference between treatments, and I think which treatments will be more effective for patients will be a priority."
- Company
- Myelofibrosis new drug Inrebic can be prescribed
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Apr 24, 2023 05:52am
- The Myelofibrosis drug Inrebic is now available for prescription in general hospitals. According to related industries, Inrevic, a myelofibrosis treatment drug from BMS Pharmaceuticals, passed the Drug Committee (DC) of general hospitals such as SMC and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. Inrebic received domestic approval in April of last year as 'treatment for splenomegaly or symptoms related to primary myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, and myelofibrosis after essential thrombocythemia in adult patients previously treated with Jakavi. After that, he submitted an application for benefits but failed to pass HIRA once in June of last year. After re-applying, it passed both the Cancer Disease Review Committee and the Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Evaluation Committee last month, and the results of the drug price negotiations with The NHIS are expected to be released soon. This drug is a JAK-2 inhibitor and is expected to be different from Jakavi, a JAK1/2 inhibitor. Inrebic is the first to obtain approval for an oral once-a-day drug that greatly reduces the burden of spleen volume and symptoms in patients with myelofibrosis who have not had a history of treatment. Myelofibrosis is a rare blood cancer that affects the bone marrow and interferes with the body's normal production of blood cells. Patients suffer from symptoms such as an enlarged spleen, fatigue, itching, weight loss, night sweats, fever, and bone pain, which affect their quality of life. experience symptoms. Jakavi was the only JAK inhibitor approved for the treatment of myelofibrosis, and there was no alternative for patients who failed treatment. Inrebic is a treatment that appeared 10 years after Jakavi in the myelofibrosis market, where there was no second-line treatment option. Inrebic is currently covered through the Cancer Drug Fund in the UK. In 2021, NICE refused to apply Inrebic to NHS benefits. However, CDF recommends the use of Inrebic within its oncology fund for the treatment of splenomegaly or other symptoms associated with the disease in patients with myelofibrosis who have previously been treated with Jakavi.
- Company
- Will reimb limitations for Xospata be resolved this time?
- by Eo, Yun-Ho Apr 24, 2023 05:52am
- Whether Xospata will be able to produce results and receive reimbursement extensions this time is gaining attention. Dailpharm’s coverage showed that the agenda on expanding reimbursement standards for Xospata will likely be deliberated by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service(HIRA) Cancer Disease Deliberation Committee. The drug had been first approved for reimbursement in March of last year, but demand had been rising for its improvement due to the low effectiveness of the set standards. The drug is indicated for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with an FLT3 mutation (FLT3mut+). However, only patients who received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation are eligible for reimbursement for up to 4 cycles. It has been pointed out that there were insufficient medical grounds to say that patients with a large therapeutic benefit were first offered benefits due to limited NHI finances, and various voices of concern followed immediately after the reimbursement was applied. As an acute disease, the current benefit restriction has been pointed to as an issue that needs to be addressed to save patients from missing real treatment opportunities. The current best option for a cure in AML patients is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, but this is accompanied by a high risk of recurrence, and transplantation is not an option for the large number of elderly AML patients that exist. Therefore, there is no suitable treatment alternative other than Xospata available for patients who cannot undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantations, and these patients are still using the chemotherapy that was developed over 40 years ago due to ineligibility for reimbursement of Xospata. Also, Xospata can offer an opportunity for a complete cure in patients who cannot receive transplantation from their initial treatment stage, but the limited reimbursement standards are depriving patients of the opportunity to start their initial treatment with Xospata. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether Xospata’s reimbursement extension will be deliberated in the upcoming CDDC meeting and produce positive results. Xospata targets both types of FLT3 mutations, FLT3-ITD and FLT3-TKD, and may be self-administered at home as a single oral tablet once daily without frequent hospital visits. Also, Xostapa has improved efficacy compared with existing chemotherapy.
- Company
- Hanmi Pharm, leading the outpatient prescription market
- by Chon, Seung-Hyun Apr 24, 2023 05:52am
- Hanmi Pharmaceutical continued its strong performance in the outpatient prescription market. With self-developed new complex drugs such as Rosuzet and Amosartan, it has been at the forefront of domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies. Chong Kun Dang and Daewoong Pharmaceutical took the lead with high growth, while Daewoong Bio showed a steep rise. According to UBIST, a pharmaceutical research institute, on the 24th, Hanmi Pharm raised the highest outpatient prescription amount of 219 billion won in the first quarter, taking the lead among domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies. It rose 7.0% from the previous year, predicting the lead for six consecutive years. Hanmi Pharmaceutical ranked first in prescription performance for the first time in 2018, and has been ranked first for five consecutive years until last year. Hanmi Pharmaceutical continued its leadership in the prescription drug market with new combination drugs. Rosuzet, a combination drug for hyperlipidemia, recorded W41.5bn in prescriptions, up 13.1% YoY in 1Q. Among all pharmaceuticals, it ranked second after Lipitor. Launched at the end of 2015, Rosuzet is a combination drug for hyperlipidemia consisting of Rosuvastatin and Ezetimbibe. Rosuzet is experiencing rapid growth thanks to market dominance and the popularity of its statin-ezetimibe complex. Rosuzet exceeded 100 billion won in prescriptions for three consecutive years from 2020. Rosuzet has been recording more than 10 billion won in prescriptions for 25 consecutive months from March 2021. Although domestic pharmaceutical companies are entering the statin/ezetimibe market in droves and competing overheated, Rosuzet has continued to grow rapidly based on its accumulated reliability. Amosartan also showed off its health. Along with Amosartan, Hanmi Pharmaceutical is selling Amosartanplus, Amosartan Q, and Amosartan XQ. Amosartan prescriptions increased 3.6% YoY to W22.1bn in the first quarter. Amosartanplus posted KRW 7.6 billion, up 6.5% YoY, and Amosartan XQ recorded KRW 2.3 billion, more than doubling from 1Q last year. Chong Kun Dang and Daewoong Pharmaceutical showed high growth and chased the leader. Chong Kun Dang's outpatient prescriptions in the first quarter were 172 billion won, up 14.9 percent from the previous year, ranking second. Chong Kun Dang ranked second in prescription performance for five consecutive years from 2018 to last year. Chongkundang Gliatirin, a brain function enhancer containing choline alfoscerate, recorded KRW 26.9 billion in prescriptions in the first quarter, up 13.7% from the previous year. Emorton, an osteoarthritis treatment, recorded KRW 14.4 billion in prescriptions in the first quarter, up 15.9% from the previous year. Imotun is an OTC made from extracts of 'Avocado-Soya Unsaponifiables'. As a result of the re-evaluation of benefits, the health authorities concluded at the end of last year that Emorten's benefits were appropriate, and it escaped from the danger of deleting benefits and its prescription performance increased further. Chong Kun Dang's new combination drug, Telminuvo, recorded KRW 13.4 billion in prescriptions, up 8.5% YoY in 1Q. Telminuvo is a combination drug combining Telmisartan and S-Amlodipine. Daewoong Pharmaceutical recorded KRW 137.6 billion in outpatient prescriptions in the first quarter, up 16.4% from the previous year. A new drug, Fexuclue, has been newly added. Fexuclue recorded KRW 10.8 billion in outpatient prescriptions in the first quarter. Fexuclue is a P-CAB class drug for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Fexuclue received marketing permission from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in December 2021 and started selling in earnest as it was listed on the health insurance reimbursement list in July of last year. Fexuclue recorded KRW 3.3 billion in prescriptions in January, and expanded its prescription volume to KRW 3.6 billion and KRW 4 billion in February and March, respectively. Daewoong Bio showed the highest growth rate among major pharmaceutical companies. Daewoong Bio's first quarter prescriptions increased by 24.7% year-on-year to KRW 100.9 billion. Prescriptions for gliatamine, a component of choline alfoscerate, increased 25.8% from the previous year to KRW 37.1 billion in the first quarter.
- Company
- Dong-A ST, preclinical results for immuno-cancer drugs
- by Kim, Jin-Gu Apr 23, 2023 09:44pm
- Dong-A ST announced on the 20th that it announced the results of a preclinical study of the immuno-cancer drug candidate "DA-4505" at the American Association for Cancer Research, AACR) 2023 held in Orlando, Florida from the 14th to the 19th. The American Cancer Research Association is called the world's top three cancer societies, and is an annual academic conference where pharmaceutical bio companies from 120 countries participate to share cancer-related knowledge and research results. At the conference, Dong-A ST announced the "anti-tumor effect of DA-4505, a new aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist as an immune treatment in a tumor microenvironment," and "improving the efficacy of anticancer surgery and chemotherapy through the anti-tumor effect of a new AhR antagonist DA-4505. DA-4505 is an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) antagonist. AhR is a factor that regulates the immune system and plays a role in suppressing the immune response and preventing tumor cells from being attacked. Preclinically, DA-4505 has been shown to restore the inhibited immune response in the tumor microenvironment by inhibiting AhR. It has also been observed that stimulating immune cells such as dendritic cells and T cells are activated and cancer cells inhibit immunity. The improved tumor suppression effect was confirmed through preclinical comparison with AhR antagonists under development by global pharmaceutical companies. In addition, the increased tumor suppression effect was confirmed through the combination of DA-4505 and global pharmaceutical companies' anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors. Global pharmaceutical companies are competing to develop AhR antagonists with new mechanisms of anticancer drugs, said Park Jae-hong, president of the R&D division of Dong-A ST. "We plan to apply for phase 1 clinical IND of DA-4505 in the second quarter of this year," he said.
