Daewoong and HanAll Biopharma Join Hands to Invest in US Parkinson's Disease Treatment Developer

Daewoong Pharmaceutical Headquarters Exterior (Photo by Daewoong Pharmaceutical)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Daewoong Pharmaceutical and HanAll Biopharma are further expanding their open collaboration through a joint investment in the U.S. new drug developer Nurron Pharmaceuticals.

On the 29th, Daewoong Pharmaceutical and HanAll Biopharma announced that they will participate in Nurron's Series A investment while embarking on a long-term collaboration to develop a new drug for Parkinson's disease. The two companies plan to increase communication and cooperation with experts in the U.S. pharmaceutical and biotech industries through their collaboration with Nurron.

Through this investment, the two companies acquired a stake in Nurron worth $1 million (approximately 1.2 billion KRW) and secured the right to negotiate preferentially on Nurron's Parkinson's disease drug candidates under development.

The new drug candidate developed by Nurron targets 'Nurr1,' a type of nuclear receptor transcription factor, to promote dopamine secretion. Parkinson's disease occurs as dopamine cells in the substantia nigra of the midbrain degenerate. This candidate drug has a mechanism that protects dopamine nerve cells and alleviates Parkinson's disease symptoms. It is currently in the preclinical stage, with plans to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application and begin clinical trials in the first half of next year.

Nurron is a U.S.-based biotech company developing various central nervous system disease treatments, including Parkinson's disease therapies. It was co-founded by Professor Kwang Soo Kim of Harvard Medical School, a global authority on Parkinson's disease, and George A. Lopez, former CEO of ICU Medical. Dr. Duk Joong Kim, who has 35 years of new drug development experience including serving as Vice President of Research and Development at the U.S. pharmaceutical company Rexahn, currently serves as CEO.

Seungwon Jung, CEO of HanAll Biopharma, said, "Through global open collaboration, HanAll will boldly challenge new disease areas that it has not previously addressed." Dr. Duk Joong Kim, CEO of Nurron, also stated, "We will work closely to ensure that world-class new drugs can be developed through joint development with Daewoong Pharmaceutical and HanAll Biopharma."