Qurient's Adricetinib Selected as National New Drug Development Project Support Task

Innovative new drug company Qurient announced on June 20 that its Axl/Mer/CSF1R triple inhibitor anticancer agent, Adricetinib (Q702), has been selected as a clinical-stage support project by the National New Drug Development Project, overseen by the National New Drug Development Agency.

The National New Drug Development Project is a cross-ministerial national R&D initiative launched to strengthen the global competitiveness of the domestic pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Since 2021, the project has aimed to support all stages of new drug development over a period of 10 years, with the goals of reinforcing the domestic new drug R&D ecosystem, generating global commercialization outcomes, and achieving public interest results in the healthcare sector.

With Adricetinib being selected as a clinical-stage project for the '2025 First National New Drug Development Project,' Qurient will receive research funding from the agency over the next two years for clinical trials targeting chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD).

Based on recent advice from leading experts in the field of hematologic malignancies, Qurient identified cGvHD as a new indication for Adricetinib. In January of this year, the company received Investigational New Drug (IND) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a Phase 1b clinical trial.

cGvHD is a chronic hematologic disorder that occurs in about 50% of blood cancer patients who have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, there is still a lack of fundamental therapies that can offer long-term treatment efficacy.

Adricetinib not only inhibits CSF1R, which is attracting attention as a promising therapeutic target for cGvHD, but also distinguishes itself by suppressing relapse of residual hematologic malignancies through its Axl/Mer inhibition mechanism.

Nam Kiyeon, CEO of Qurient, stated, "Adricetinib is currently undergoing clinical trials for hematologic malignancies in collaboration with world-renowned hospitals," and added, "With government support, we will be able to accelerate clinical trials for cGvHD as well." He continued, "Given that the clinical mechanism demonstrating efficacy in cGvHD has been proven, in addition to the recently announced efficacy in solid tumor treatment, we expect to achieve meaningful clinical results."

Cho Yongjun, Chairman of Donggu BioPharm, said, "Adricetinib is an innovative new drug candidate with a novel therapeutic mechanism for diseases where immune modulation is key, such as solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, and graft-versus-host disease." He added, "It has the potential to serve as a platform for expanding into various indications." He also emphasized, "The selection for the government project once again highlights Qurient's scientific research capabilities and the scalability of its new drug pipeline, which is highly significant."