Ildong Pharmaceutical Subsidiary Yunovia Accelerates Development of Oral Obesity Treatment Drug

Ildong Pharmaceutical's dedicated research and development (R&D) subsidiary, Yunovia, established with a commitment to new drug development, has selected obesity treatment as its main pipeline and is accelerating its development.

Ildong Pharmaceutical Headquarters Exterior [Photo by Ildong Pharmaceutical]

In November last year, Ildong Pharmaceutical established Yunovia and restructured by transferring R&D organizations, personnel, and new drug pipelines along with other R&D-related assets. This aims to secure the independence of the R&D subsidiary, improve the efficiency of new drug project promotion, and facilitate investment attraction.

Yunovia currently holds more than 10 new drug pipelines in various fields including ▲metabolic diseases ▲liver diseases ▲gastrointestinal diseases ▲ophthalmic diseases ▲Parkinson's disease, among others. The plan is to focus R&D on areas with high demand and growth potential.

A representative area is the obesity treatment drug, glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 analog. GLP-1 is produced in pancreatic beta (β) cells and functions to induce insulin secretion in the body, thereby regulating blood glucose levels. GLP-1 analogs have been developed as treatments for type 2 diabetes and are also known to be involved in appetite suppression and gastrointestinal motility regulation, leading to their commercialization as obesity treatments and forming a huge market.

Yunovia is developing an oral obesity treatment drug in the GLP-1 receptor agonist class, 'ID110521156'. In preclinical trials, it demonstrated efficacy in insulin secretion and blood glucose regulation as well as superior safety compared to competing drugs in the same class.

In September last year, it received approval for a Phase 1 clinical trial application (IND) from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and is currently conducting clinical trials. These trials evaluate the tolerability, safety, and pharmacokinetic properties of ID110521156.

Notably, while existing GLP-1 class drugs are mainly peptide-based biological injectables, ID110521156 is being developed as an oral synthetic drug (chemical), which is attracting attention. Yunovia stated, "It is structurally more stable than peptide formulations, offering superior manufacturing efficiency and productivity," adding, "We aim to differentiate by developing an oral treatment that is convenient for patients to use."

Ildong Pharmaceutical and Yunovia plan to pursue commercialization of ID110521156 alongside business partnerships and investment attraction through open innovation, as well as exploring technology export (license-out) opportunities. They are also working on securing rights such as patent acquisition, having already registered or filed patents in major markets including Korea, the United States, Europe, China, and Japan.