[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Kyungdong Pharmaceutical announced on the 28th that it will invest 2 billion KRW in AULBIO, a venture company developing long-acting biopharmaceuticals.
Kyungdong Pharmaceutical has secured the first negotiation rights for joint development and domestic commercialization of some of the long-acting drug pipelines being researched and developed by AULBIO.
Founded in 2018, AULBIO is a bio-venture developing long-acting drugs based on innovative drug delivery system (DDS) technology. Utilizing Extenna microsphere technology, it is promoting the commercialization of long-acting diabetes and obesity treatments. It also has various pipelines including treatments for dementia and smoking cessation.
Drug delivery technology efficiently delivers drugs to enhance therapeutic effects. When microspheres containing therapeutic ingredients are administered into the body, they sustain the drug effect for a long time, reducing the frequency of injections and improving medication adherence. Microspheres are small spherical particles with a diameter of 10 to 100 μm, about one-tenth the thickness of a human hair.
The ‘Extenna microsphere technology’ is a customized drug delivery technology that loads peptide drugs, etc., onto biodegradable microsphere carriers to sustain drug efficacy for a desired period.
Kim Kyunghoon, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Kyungdong Pharmaceutical, who oversees new business discovery and investment operations, explained, "This is part of a strategy to expand investment in promising bio-ventures based on CEO Ryu Kisung’s firm commitment to securing future growth engines."
He added, "AULBIO possesses many research and development achievements and excellent technology in the drug delivery sector. We look forward to strengthening the strategic partnership between the two companies to create synergy effects."
Last year, Kyungdong Pharmaceutical made an equity investment in A&L Bio, a gene therapy company specializing in brain diseases, and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for new drug research and development cooperation. Based on abundant liquidity, the company plans to expand investments in the bio healthcare business to secure future growth engines.
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