Kyungdong Pharmaceutical Invests in Hexapharmatech... "Development of New Drugs and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Kyungdong Pharmaceutical announced on the 3rd that it has decided to invest in HEXA Pharmatec, a company specializing in innovative new drug and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) development, and will collaborate on new drug and API development.

Kyungdong Pharmaceutical, which began second-generation management under the sole leadership of CEO Ryu Gi-seong in June, is conducting strategic investments (SI) and collaborations in bio healthcare to secure future growth engines. As the first step in its bio healthcare investment plan, it signed a 3 billion KRW equity investment and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ANLBIO, a company specializing in gene therapy for degenerative brain diseases, last October.

HEXA Pharmatec, established in 2009, is a company specializing in innovative new drug and API research and development. It is currently developing innovative new drug candidates for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) treatments and possesses proprietary new manufacturing technologies for API production.

HEXA Pharmatec is conducting preclinical trials for its main pipeline, ‘HEXA-018,’ and is collaborating with renowned domestic and international institutions and professors. Last year, through efficacy evaluation by Japan’s SMC Laboratories, a world-leading NASH testing institution, the outstanding efficacy of the NASH treatment ‘HEXA-018’ was demonstrated. ‘HEXA-018’ has a different anti-fibrosis mechanism compared to other candidates currently in clinical trials or those that have failed clinical trials. In the future, the indications for ‘HEXA-018’ will be expanded to treat fibrosis in the lungs, kidneys, and intestines.

Alongside new drug research and development, HEXA Pharmatec holds differentiated synthesis, separation, and purification technologies for various APIs and plans to build a cGMP factory specialized in manufacturing high potency APIs in Hwaseong Bio Valley next year.

A Kyungdong Pharmaceutical official stated, “HEXA Pharmatec not only has innovative new drugs related to liver diseases but also possesses various pipelines including treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and gout, as well as proprietary technologies for API production, which we expect will create significant business synergy with Kyungdong Pharmaceutical.” He added, “Following investments in ANLBIO and HEXA Pharmatec, we plan to actively secure future growth engines through continuous investments in bio healthcare venture companies with excellent technology and capabilities.”