Daewoong Pharmaceutical to Collaborate with DCGEN on Breast Cancer Prognosis Prediction Kit Business

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Daewoong Pharmaceutical recently announced on the 3rd that it has signed an agreement with DCGEN, a clinical genomics analysis technology company, to promote the global business of a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based multigene test kit for breast cancer prognosis prediction.

Based on this agreement, Daewoong Pharmaceutical plans to collaborate with DCGEN on the global business cooperation and commercialization contracts for the breast cancer prognosis prediction test 'OncoFREE' in China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and other regions. Daewoong Pharmaceutical will be responsible for obtaining approvals, licensing, sales, and marketing activities by country, while DCGEN will handle product manufacturing and quality control.

OncoFREE is a Korean-type breast cancer prognosis prediction test developed by DCGEN. It analyzes the ribonucleic acid (RNA) expression levels of 179 genes related to breast cancer prognosis based on NGS and calculates the risk of recurrence and metastasis numerically through a proprietary algorithm. The calculated score can help determine whether to proceed with adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery.

Jeon Seung-ho, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, said, “We are pleased to cooperate with DCGEN for global business expansion,” and added, “Daewoong Pharmaceutical will continue to strengthen investment and collaboration according to its plan to expand global open innovation.” Shin Hee-chul, CEO of DCGEN, stated, “We are delighted to have an opportunity to take a step forward through a friendly partnership with Daewoong Pharmaceutical,” and expressed hope that “through the global launch of OncoFREE, many breast cancer patients worldwide will be freed from the suffering caused by chemotherapy and will not miss out on essential chemotherapy.”