Samjin Pharmaceutical announced on June 27 that it had signed a research agreement with the National New Drug Development Project Group on June 26 for the "non-clinical development of next-generation oral small molecule drug candidates for the treatment of immune diseases."
At the agreement ceremony between Samjin Pharmaceutical and the National New Drug Development Project Group, Soo Min Lee, head of the research center at Samjin Pharmaceutical (left), and Young Min Park, director of KDDF (right), are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Samjin Pharmaceutical
Through this agreement, Samjin Pharmaceutical will receive research and development funding and technical consulting from the project group for all stages of non-clinical development over the next two years. The company will now actively pursue key non-clinical research, including efficacy and toxicity assessments of drug candidates, formulation development and pharmacokinetic (PK) studies, and the establishment of pilot-scale production processes for active pharmaceutical ingredients.
The candidate substance currently under development by Samjin Pharmaceutical is a next-generation oral small molecule therapeutic, discovered and validated in-house using the company's proprietary AI-based drug design technology. Specifically, it selectively blocks a particular "GPCR" receptor involved in immune cell hyperactivation and inflammatory responses. Compared to existing antibody or ASO-based immune disease treatments, it offers competitive advantages in oral administration potential, simplicity and cost efficiency of the production process, and superior tissue penetration and pharmacokinetic properties.
Samjin Pharmaceutical is strengthening new drug development in the field of immune diseases centered around this candidate substance, and plans to lay the groundwork for strategic collaborations based on the results of non-clinical studies in the future.
Soo Min Lee, head of the research center at Samjin Pharmaceutical, stated, "Through the implementation of the National New Drug Development Project, we will further enhance our non-clinical capabilities and do our utmost to demonstrate the commercial potential of our candidate substance." He added, "In addition to small molecule therapeutics, Samjin Pharmaceutical is also strengthening its research competitiveness through various new drug platforms such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), and will continue to pursue the development of globally innovative drugs in a wide range of therapeutic areas, including immune diseases, oncology, and metabolic diseases."
Meanwhile, the National New Drug Development Project is a pan-ministerial national R&D initiative launched to enhance the global competitiveness of Korea's pharmaceutical and bio industries. Since 2021, it has supported all stages of new drug development over a ten-year period, aiming to strengthen the domestic new drug development R&D ecosystem, achieve global commercialization outcomes, and generate public interest achievements in the healthcare sector.
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