[Market Focus] WSI Shares Surge on Subsidiary's Obesity Drug Animal Trials Announcement

As of 9:30 a.m. on August 27, shares of the medical device company WSI were trading at 1,830 won, up 20.79% from the previous day's closing price. This appears to be due to the announcement that its subsidiary, IntroBioPharma, is developing obesity treatment technology.

WSI, which is engaged in the distribution of pharmaceuticals such as spinal joint medical devices and topical hemostatic agents, entered the pharmaceutical business last year by acquiring IntroBioPharma. The company currently holds a 77% stake in IntroBioPharma.

On this day, WSI announced that IntroBioPharma is conducting non-clinical trials of an oral obesity treatment based on a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue. IntroBioPharma explained that it has confirmed the potential to enhance gastrointestinal absorption of high-molecular-weight peptides using its proprietary EmulPass technology.

The process of new drug development is complex and time-consuming, involving steps such as the discovery of candidate substances, non-clinical animal testing, Phase 1, 2, and 3 human clinical trials, and approval from regulatory authorities such as the FDA. In the case of non-clinical animal testing, a third-party accredited institution produces the experimental results and submits them to regulatory agencies for approval before entering clinical trials.

The company stated, "IntroBioPharma has established a blood analysis method necessary for obesity treatment development through its clinical trial contract research organization (CRO) subsidiary, IVP Lab, and is currently in the final stage of animal testing. We plan to complete the animal testing as early as the third quarter, secure a technological foundation including patent applications, and then begin clinical trials."