Cough Suppressant and Expectorant Developed by Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group in China, Being Developed as COVID-19 Treatment

Lim Jong-yoon, CEO of Hanmi Science, Started Development in 2005 at Beijing Hanmi
Local Approval in 2019 After 14 Years of Development... Additional Clinical Research Underway

Beijing Hanmi Pharmaceutical's antitussive and expectorant inhalation agent 'Ianping'

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Beijing Hanmi Pharmaceutical, the Chinese subsidiary of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, has attracted attention as its cough and expectorant drug 'Ianping (易安平)', approved last year, has been recognized as a treatment regimen for COVID-19 in China. The development began in 2005 when Lim Jong-yoon, CEO of the group’s holding company Hanmi Science, was the CEO of Beijing Hanmi, and the drug was launched last year after 14 years. It is also the first time that the drug name itself has been designated as a recommended treatment regimen for COVID-19.

According to related industries on the 31st, two institutions in China?the local pediatric experts and the Guangdong Provincial Drug Administration Control Center?issued an expert consensus recommending Ianping as a preferred drug for COVID-19 treatment. It is known to hold authority equivalent to official Chinese government guidelines, reflecting a consensus among multiple expert groups that the drug is suitable for COVID-19 treatment. The company is proceeding with additional clinical trial approvals based on this.

The main ingredient of Ianping, ambroxol, is a safe drug widely used worldwide, first commercialized in Germany in 1979 based on India’s natural Ayurvedic treatment. It works by stimulating type II lung cells to secrete surfactant, preventing phlegm from sticking to alveoli and facilitating easy expectoration.

Ianping is a liquid inhalant developed to allow ambroxol to be inhaled orally via a vaporizer. It acts faster in the body with a smaller amount compared to regular syrup formulations and is compatible with ventilators. Recent studies have shown that it also regulates histamine and leukotrienes to reduce inflammation. It has attracted attention for enhancing the function of a broad range of antibiotics and improving treatment effects when used in combination therapy with rifampicin in tuberculosis patients.

Although Ianping was approved and launched last year, its origins date back to 2005. At that time, Beijing Hanmi Pharmaceutical was clinically developing the syrup form Itanjing at Beijing Children’s Hospital and Children’s Research Institute, as well as Shanghai Children’s Hospital and Medical Center. Itanjing played a key role in solidifying Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s position in China, producing 48 million bottles annually (as of 2019), and is the top-prescribed syrup-type cough and expectorant in the local market.

At that time, medical staff suggested the need for a vaporizer form of the drug, and Lim Jong-yoon (photo), then CEO of Beijing Hanmi, initiated the development of Ianping as the second Itanjing. After 14 years of extensive development, research, and clinical approval processes in research centers in Korea and China, it was launched in 2019. It is currently the only ambroxol vaporizer to have completed Phase 3 clinical trials in China.

The company is preparing to obtain approval for Ianping as a cough and expectorant vaporizer in the United States, Europe, and Korea. The holding company Hanmi Science is conducting further clinical research to develop a new combination therapy that can significantly reduce the risk of hypoxia-related death caused by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a type of hypersensitive immune response.