[Click e-Stock] "Curacle Draws Attention for Momentum in Diverse New Drug Pipelines"

On October 1, KB Securities analyzed that Curacle is drawing attention for the momentum of its diverse new drug pipelines.

Founded in 2016, Curacle is a company specializing in the development of new drugs targeting vascular endothelial dysfunction. It is expanding its portfolio based on its proprietary platform technologies, SOLVADYS and EAGLES.

Im Gook, a researcher at KB Securities, explained, "Curacle is developing therapeutics to block vascular endothelial dysfunction, an area with high unmet needs and significant expected growth, through its two platforms, SOLVADYS and EAGLES."

Currently, Curacle has secured a total of eight vascular treatment candidates, including 'CU06', the world's first oral treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema, and 'CU01', a treatment for diabetic nephropathy. In addition, through its open innovation strategy, Curacle is collaborating with Maptics, in which it holds a 19.1% stake, to secure eight additional antibody drug candidates. As a result, the company is developing a total of sixteen candidates. Researcher Im noted, "There is keen interest in whether any of these sixteen diverse oral and antibody drug candidates will become global first-in-class drugs in the future."

Curacle's competitiveness stems from its proprietary platform technologies. Researcher Im analyzed, "The SOLVADYS platform for developing vascular endothelial dysfunction blockers confirms safety at the early research stage, which is expected to enable faster clinical entry and higher clinical success rates compared to existing platforms. Its scalability, which allows for easy expansion of indications to various diseases, is also a strong advantage."

The performance of Curacle's core pipelines is also noteworthy. Researcher Im emphasized, "Clinical trials for CU06, the world's first oral treatment for retinal diseases, are progressing smoothly. In the results of the U.S. Phase 2a clinical trial in 2024, all patient groups with diabetic macular edema showed improvements in best-corrected visual acuity, which was a positive outcome." This pipeline is scheduled for a Phase 2b trial in 2026.

Expectations are also high for the diabetic nephropathy treatment 'CU01', which is currently in the final stages of a domestic Phase 2b clinical trial. Researcher Im stated, "If favorable results are achieved within this year, the likelihood of a technology transfer is expected to increase." In addition, the antibody therapy 'MT-101', which is being co-developed with Maptics, has signed multiple material transfer agreements (MTAs) with global pharmaceutical companies, and full-scale negotiations for technology transfer are anticipated.

Researcher Im evaluated, "Curacle has significant potential to emerge as a global new drug development company, based on its differentiated platform technologies and active open innovation strategy. The company's valuation could be significantly reassessed depending on the future performance of its major pipelines."