HK Innoen also enters obesity treatment market... Introducing 'GLP-1' in China

HK Innoen has recently taken steps to introduce an obesity treatment drug that is gaining significant attention in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

On the 2nd, HK Innoen announced that it has signed a license and partnership agreement with Chinese biotech company Sciwind Bioscience for the domestic development and commercialization of the obesity treatment candidate drug Ecnoglutide (XW003), a glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 analog. Through this agreement, HK Innoen will pay Sciwind an upfront payment, milestone royalties, and ongoing royalties based on sales after launch, securing exclusive domestic development and commercialization rights for Ecnoglutide.

Ecnoglutide is a GLP-1 class obesity treatment drug that has recently gained tremendous popularity by demonstrating over 20% weight loss efficacy in clinical trials. It is being developed as a once-weekly injectable drug and is currently undergoing Phase 2 clinical trials for type 2 diabetes and obesity in China. Previous Phase 2 trials conducted in China and Australia confirmed its blood sugar-lowering and weight loss effects along with safety. HK Innoen also plans to simultaneously advance Phase 3 clinical trials for type 2 diabetes and obesity indications for Ecnoglutide.

Kwok Dalwon, CEO of HK Innoen, said, "With the introduction of Ecnoglutide, we will make a full-scale entry into the rapidly growing global obesity treatment market. Based on our experience successfully turning the gastroesophageal reflux disease drug K-CAB into a blockbuster, we will closely collaborate with Sciwind to develop Ecnoglutide into a product that achieves over 100 billion KRW in sales in the domestic obesity treatment market."

Hai Pan, CEO of Sciwind, said, "We are very pleased to partner with HK Innoen, which has excellent capabilities in product development and commercialization. Ecnoglutide, a GLP-1 analog, has demonstrated not only therapeutic efficacy for patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity but also confirmed safety and tolerability in clinical trials."