HK Innoen-Oncobix Sign MOU for Joint Development of New Drugs Including JAK Inhibitors

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] HK inno.N is partnering with next-generation innovative drug company Oncobics to develop new drugs for autoimmune diseases.

HK inno.N announced on the 8th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for joint research and development of new drugs for autoimmune diseases with Oncobics.

Oncobics will utilize its proprietary target compound derivation platform technology, 'TOFPOMICS,' based on a virtual fragment library of 2.56 million compounds, to conduct candidate compound derivation and synthesis research for autoimmune disease drugs. HK inno.N will perform candidate evaluation, validation, and commercialization research.

Following the successful establishment of the gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment 'K-CAB,' HK inno.N is researching 14 new drug pipelines in the fields of digestion, immunity, cancer, and cell therapy to discover follow-up new drugs succeeding K-CAB.

Among these, HK inno.N, which is researching JAK inhibitor-type autoimmune disease drugs, plans to accelerate new drug development together with Oncobics by leveraging its expertise in the related field. HK inno.N is currently developing a JAK1 inhibitor candidate 'IN-A002' and has completed phase 1 clinical trials in Korea with 30 adult participants. HK inno.N aims to develop indications such as rheumatoid arthritis and atopic dermatitis and is also reportedly reviewing plans to develop treatments for alopecia areata.

Oncobics is about to enter clinical trials with a fourth-generation lung cancer treatment candidate derived through the TOFPOMICS platform. Through this MOU, Oncobics expects to expand its research scope not only in existing targeted anticancer drugs but also into the autoimmune disease field.

The two companies are preparing to sign a joint research and development contract as a follow-up procedure to the MOU and plan to continue their strategic cooperative relationship.