Bioson Pharmaceutical announced on the 8th that it has received approval for a U.S. substance patent registration for the drug addiction treatment agent ‘VVZ-2471’ and its derivatives. Currently, patent registrations for VVZ-2471 are also underway in major countries including South Korea.
VVZ-2471 is an oral new drug candidate discovered through multi-target new drug discovery platform technology, effective for pain relief as well as treatment of drug and substance addiction. In South Korea, it is planned to be clinically tested as a treatment for neuropathic pain, while in the U.S., it will be developed as a treatment for drug addiction.
VVZ-2471 has already confirmed tolerability and safety through a Phase 1 clinical trial in South Korea. In March, an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a Phase 2 clinical trial was submitted to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). As an oral therapeutic agent, VVZ-2471 has the advantage of being used complementarily with Opiranzerin (VVZ-149) injection, for which Bioson Pharmaceutical has applied for domestic marketing approval.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., where drug addiction and abuse of narcotic analgesics such as fentanyl and opioids have emerged as serious social issues, a Phase 2 clinical trial for drug and substance addiction treatment is planned. To this end, Bioson Pharmaceutical will first collaborate with U.S. drug addiction treatment experts and apply for the new drug development support program of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
A Bioson representative stated, “Through non-clinical studies, VVZ-2471 has demonstrated efficacy not only in pain suppression but also as a treatment for drug addiction,” and added, “With the approval of the U.S. patent registration, we will accelerate research and development and clinical preparations in the U.S., where drug and substance abuse issues are recognized as a national crisis.”
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