HLB Prepares Next Step After 'Lenvatinib'... From Obesity Drugs to 'AI New Drug Development'

As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review of 'Riboceranib,' which has become a core pipeline of the HLB Group, is progressing smoothly, the HLB Group is identifying glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 for diabetes and obesity treatment and artificial intelligence (AI) drug development, which have recently attracted attention in the industry, as the next steps and is continuing related development.

Jinyang Gon, Chairman of HLB [Photo by HLB]

According to the HLB Group on the 13th, in addition to Riboceranib, which is raising expectations for FDA approval in May next year after recently completing an on-site inspection of the production plant in China, the group is continuing research and development (R&D) such as a long-acting injectable for obesity treatment through HLB Pharmaceutical and an AI drug development platform through Paminozen, a subsidiary of HLB BioStep.

In the field of diabetes and obesity treatment, the group is developing a long-acting injectable form of glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1, which has recently gained attention due to its innovative weight loss effects. The goal is to maintain drug efficacy for more than one month with just a single injection.

The development of long-acting injectables for diabetes and obesity is being carried out through HLB Pharmaceutical's independently developed long-acting injectable platform technology called 'SMEB.' Through this, the company plans to resolve the issue of uniformity of microparticles, which has been a challenge for long-acting injectables, and improve side effects caused by initial excessive drug release. HLB Pharmaceutical is currently conducting Phase 1 clinical trials of 'HLBP-024,' an oral thrombosis treatment converted into a long-acting injectable.

Since 2021, HLB Pharmaceutical has been continuing obesity treatment research in collaboration with Humedix. Recently, a patent for the drug manufacturing method has also been filed, and after completing research on the long-acting injectable formulation, the related technology will be transferred to Humedix to proceed from preclinical stages to production and sales.

HLB logo [Photo by HLB]

Another future growth engine identified by the HLB Group is Paminozen's AI-based drug development platform 'Lucinet.' Lucinet possesses big data on approximately 400 billion preliminary new drug compounds, considered one of the largest in the world.

Paminozen has built Lucinet models for each sector, from substance exploration to ▲drug repositioning and indication expansion ▲new drug candidate discovery ▲candidate optimization and drug design ▲preclinical trial prediction, providing an AI-based one-stop service covering all areas of drug development. This differentiates it from existing AI drug development companies that mostly offer services in only one sector.

Using the Lucinet platform, Paminozen has secured about 20 innovative new drug pipelines. It is also conducting 30 joint research projects with domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies and institutions. Recognizing Paminozen's value, HLB BioStep made a 3 billion KRW investment in 2020 and currently holds a 33.9% stake in Paminozen.

In addition, the HLB Group is conducting R&D on HLB Therapeutics' glioblastoma treatment 'OKN-007,' neurotrophic keratitis treatment 'RGN-259,' Verismo Therapeutics' next-generation chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapy, and Immunomic Therapeutics' Merkel cell carcinoma treatment 'ITI-3000.'