NextenBio Subsidiary Rosvivo Signs CDA with China's Livezone Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Nexten Bio announced on the 14th that its subsidiary RosVivo Therapeutics has signed a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA) with Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc. (hereinafter Livzon), a listed pharmaceutical and bio company in China, for the joint development and technology export of a functional gastrointestinal disorder treatment.

Through this CDA, RosVivo and Livzon plan to conduct substantive discussions for the joint development of a new drug for functional gastrointestinal disorders based on miRNA.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders refer to chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms lasting more than three months without structural abnormalities such as peptic ulcers or inflammation, or biochemical lesions.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders are one of the representative "modern diseases," accounting for the highest proportion among patients with digestive system issues, including functional disorders of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, colon, and bile ducts. Currently, there is no specific treatment, so if a treatment for gastrointestinal disorders is successfully developed, it is expected to become a market leader in the treatment drug market.

Livzon, established in 1985, is a Hong Kong and China joint venture company that comprehensively operates pharmaceutical research and development, production, and sales. It is simultaneously listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with a combined market capitalization approaching approximately KRW 10.8 trillion.

Livzon is actively investing in a total of 47 domestic and international companies and recorded sales of KRW 1.739 trillion last year. It ranked 25th among the top 100 Chinese pharmaceutical and bio listed companies by net profit last year, 23rd in the top 100 for pharmaceutical R&D in China, and maintained 8th place rankings in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, demonstrating its position as a pharmaceutical bio company.

A Nexten Bio official said, “Following RosVivo’s miRNA-based new drug candidate pipeline for diabetes treatment, global pharmaceutical companies have begun to show interest in the joint development of a functional gastrointestinal disorder treatment pipeline. We will do our best to proceed with the main contract for joint development of gastrointestinal disorder treatments with Livzon, which has capabilities from new drug development to sales.”

Meanwhile, in 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced statistics showing that among 500 million gastrointestinal disease patients worldwide, 120 million (about 24%) are Chinese, and in China, 500,000 people die annually from stomach cancer.