Samjin Pharmaceutical and Pinterapeutics Sign Business Agreement for 'Targeted Protein Degradation' New Drug Development

Lee Soo-min, Head of the Research Center at Samjin Pharmaceutical, and Cho Hyun-sun, CEO of Pinterapeutics, are signing a business agreement and posing for a commemorative photo.
[Photo by Samjin Pharmaceutical]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Samjin Pharmaceutical announced on the 9th that it has signed a strategic business agreement with the targeted protein degradation (TPD) new drug development company 'Pinterapeutics' to develop fundamental and improved treatments for cancer and fibrotic diseases.

Through this agreement, Samjin Pharmaceutical will conduct comprehensive research including efficacy and toxicity evaluation of TPD new drug candidates, formulation, and product quality control (CMC). Pinterapeutics will carry out research such as drug structure design and screening.

Founded in 2017, Pinterapeutics is a TPD new drug developer conducting global-level research and development through collaboration with its 100% subsidiary in the U.S., 'PinUS.' The company focuses on developing individual pipelines that degrade specific proteins as well as platform technologies with mid- to long-term goals.

TPD new drugs are a next-generation drug development platform that utilizes the intracellular protein degradation system to specifically degrade desired proteins. While conventional small molecule therapeutics inhibit protein functions, TPD new drugs fundamentally degrade and remove disease-causing proteins, resulting in superior therapeutic effects without resistance issues.

Lee Soo-min, Head of Research Center at Samjin Pharmaceutical, said, "TPD technology is expected to be a 'game changer' in new drug development as it can target over 80% of disease-causing proteins that could not be controlled by conventional small molecules. We will accelerate new drug development for cancer and fibrotic intractable diseases by combining Samjin Pharmaceutical’s expertise in small molecule compound design with Pinterapeutics’ excellent TPD technology."

Cho Hyun-sun, CEO of Pinterapeutics, stated, "We are confident that we can create great synergy based on the expertise each company possesses, and Pinterapeutics will do its best to achieve tangible results to meet the unmet needs of the intractable disease market."