[Asia Economy Reporter Hyun-ui Cho] Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced on the 15th that its subsidiary I&Therapeutics has received approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for the Phase 1 clinical trial of the non-opioid analgesic 'DWP17061'. I&Therapeutics is a new drug development company spun off from Daewoong Pharmaceutical.
Following this approval, dosing is scheduled to begin in Australia starting November. I&Therapeutics plans to initiate clinical trials for various types of pain, including osteoarthritis pain, beginning with Phase 1.
DWP17061 is a Nav1.7 inhibitor, a non-opioid analgesic that selectively blocks Nav1.7, a sodium channel directly involved in pain, preventing pain signals from being transmitted to the central nervous system. Nav1.7 is an ion channel that allows sodium ions to enter cells and is a key mediator in pain signal transmission.
DWP17061 demonstrated superior pharmacokinetics compared to competing substances in preclinical studies. A representative from I&Therapeutics stated, "It showed better analgesic effects compared to representative pain relievers used for osteoarthritis, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and tramadol."
In addition to osteoarthritis pain treatment, I&Therapeutics plans to expand indications through formulation changes to include postoperative pain and others. The company is also expanding its pipeline to include candidates for hearing loss, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's disease.
Jongdeok Park, CEO of I&Therapeutics, said, "Once DWP17061 is developed, it will contribute to alleviating the suffering of pain patients worldwide as a safe and effective new pain drug," adding, "We will do our best to develop the non-opioid chronic pain treatment under development into a global innovative new drug."
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