[Featured Stock] MedPacto Rises on Anticipation of Bactosertib Treatment Effect Prediction Results Disclosure

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] MedPacto is showing strong performance. The news that it will reveal the results predicting the therapeutic effects of Bexotertinib at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) conference in the US this November appears to have influenced its stock price.

As of 10:49 AM on the 11th, MedPacto is trading at 87,000 KRW, up 4.82% from the previous day.

MedPacto is an anticancer drug development company spun off from Theragen Etex in 2013. Its currently developing new drug, Bexotertinib (TEW-7197), has attracted global medical attention as it has been shown to enhance the therapeutic effects of world-renowned immuno-oncology drugs such as Keytruda and Imfinzi.

MedPacto’s flagship drug pipeline, Bexotertinib, is a selective inhibitor of the signaling of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), which impedes the therapeutic effects of immuno-oncology drugs. It functions to improve the tumor microenvironment so that immune cells can attack cancer cells.

The therapeutic effect of Bexotertinib is independent of the cancer’s location or type. It is presumed to be influenced by the expression levels of specific tumor genes, and MedPacto expects it to be particularly effective in treating solid tumors with abundant fibrotic tissue.

Kim Sung-jin, CEO of MedPacto leading the new drug development, earned his Ph.D. in Applied Biochemistry from Tsukuba University in Japan. He has served as a tenured senior researcher at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) Cancer Institute, endowed professor at Gachon University College of Medicine, and director of the Lee Gil-yeo Cancer and Diabetes Research Institute.

There are eight ongoing combination clinical trials related to MedPacto in Korea, the US, and other countries. Two additional combination clinical trials will be added this year. In an interview with an economic media outlet, CEO Kim Sung-jin stated, "MedPacto is the first to present results on the efficacy of the TGF-beta biomarker in clinical trials involving humans."

He added, "By next year, we expect to secure biomarker data from at least 30 to 40 patients," and "We believe this will be sufficient for new drug approval."