Kyungdong Pharmaceutical announced on the 9th that it has signed a joint development agreement with Owl Bio, a company specializing in obesity treatment drugs, for the improved new drug for obesity and diabetes, ‘AUL009’.
With this contract, Kyungdong Pharmaceutical will secure a pipeline of long-acting injectable drugs lasting one month for the treatment of obesity and diabetes.
The main ingredient of AUL009, semaglutide, belongs to the class of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. Similar drugs containing this ingredient, Novo Nordisk’s obesity treatment ‘Wegovy Prefilled Pen’ and diabetes treatment ‘Ozempic Prefilled Pen,’ have been approved by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Both products have a dosing schedule of once per week.
While existing products are administered once a week, AUL009, jointly developed by the two companies, is administered once a month, maintaining its efficacy for a full month.
Ryu Gi-sung, CEO of Kyungdong Pharmaceutical, said, “Through the joint development of AUL009, we plan to further strengthen our strategic partnership with Owl Bio,” adding, “We expect to provide an effective treatment method with a one-month lasting injectable drug, helping improve patients’ medication adherence and quality of life.”
He continued, “We will actively pursue joint development and investment with highly skilled bio ventures to establish mid- to long-term growth engines,” and added, “To this end, we plan to make additional investments within this year together with strategic investors.”
Meanwhile, Kyungdong Pharmaceutical made a strategic investment in Owl Bio in 2022. This year, along with the joint development of AUL009, the company also signed an additional strategic investment agreement, focusing on securing continuous future growth engines.
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