InscoBi is focusing its capabilities on the bio business sector as it resumes production of Apitoxin, a natural product-derived osteoarthritis pain treatment, through its new drug development subsidiary Apimez this year.
InscoBi announced on the 27th that its subsidiary Apimez will relaunch the natural product-based osteoarthritis pain and inflammation treatment 'Apitoxin' in the second half of the year.
InscoBi has selected the bio and healthcare business as a future growth engine since before COVID-19 and has actively invested in subsidiaries engaged in bio business. Through incubating efforts, it secured a new drug pipeline. The bio and healthcare business drives mid- to long-term growth strategies in three areas: ▲development of natural product-based biopharmaceuticals ▲development of artificial joints and growth factors ▲cancer diagnosis using biomarkers.
The representative bio subsidiaries are Apimez and Apimez USA, which develop biopharmaceuticals based on natural product-derived active ingredients.
Apimez signed a contract with BC World Pharm in 2021 for the supply of Apitoxin and applied for a change of approval with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in October last year. It expects to generate performance through the relaunch starting in the second half of the year.
Apitoxin, based on bee venom, is the first domestic natural product new drug and the sixth domestic new drug approved in Korea, and demand has been growing since its approval. Taking advantage of the relaunch, InscoBi plans to secure direct distribution rights and expand the market. It will expand indications to autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, which have significant market potential and unmet medical needs.
Apimez USA is maintaining investment for the Phase 3 clinical trial of 'Apitox,' a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), a representative autoimmune disease, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While negotiating investments in various ways, it has not yet completed securing investment.
Noting the gradual recovery of investment sentiment in the bio sector this year, InscoBi plans to pursue contracts with large clinical trial organizations (CROs), conditional clinical trial outsourcing, or combination therapy agreements with major pharmaceutical companies. InscoBi plans to actively support Apimez USA to enter Phase 3 clinical trials.
Jahkap Koo, CEO of InscoBi and Apimez, said, "InscoBi has reorganized its strategy for the bio business, a new growth engine within the group this year," adding, "We will achieve tangible results domestically through the relaunch of Apitoxin and achieve the short-term goal of entering Phase 3 clinical trials in the U.S. by attracting investment."
He continued, "Over the past two years, through the recruitment of experts and technology transfer from the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, we will advance as a specialized company in natural product-based biopharmaceutical development through research, development, and clinical trials of the second and third new pipelines secured."
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