Chong Kun Dang Unveils Non-Clinical Results for Degenerative Neurological Disease Treatment Candidate 'CKD-513'

Cognitive and Memory Improvement Demonstrated in Animal Models of Degenerative Neurological Diseases

Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp. announced on December 3 that it presented the non-clinical research results of its degenerative neurological disease treatment candidate, CKD-513, in a poster session at the '2025 American Neurological Association Meeting' recently held in California, USA.

Non-clinical research results poster of the degenerative neurological disease treatment candidate 'CKD-513' presented at the '2025 American Neurological Association Meeting'. Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp.

CKD-513 is a selective inhibitor of HDAC6, an enzyme that disrupts axonal transport by destabilizing microtubules within neurons. It is considered a novel therapeutic candidate that directly improves neuronal function by restoring microtubule stability and axonal transport. The drug is currently being developed to target degenerative neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, tauopathy, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT).

In this presentation, the company released efficacy results in a tauopathy model, a degenerative central nervous system disease. Tauopathy is a degenerative brain disorder characterized by the abnormal accumulation of tau protein within brain neurons, leading to impaired neuronal function. It is known as a major cause of various neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.

According to the non-clinical research results, CKD-513 demonstrated high selectivity for HDAC6 and excellent brain permeability. It was found to restore impaired axonal transport to normal levels in both tau protein overexpression cell models and disease animal models. In these animal models, CKD-513 also showed effects in restoring cognitive function and memory, and long-term potentiation (LTP) assessments further confirmed improvements in neuronal function.

A Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp. representative stated, "This presentation is a meaningful achievement that demonstrates the new potential of our HDAC6 inhibition platform technology. Based on the neuronal function improvement effects confirmed in tauopathy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease models, we will further accelerate our research and development efforts in the field of neurological diseases."

CKD-513 was recently selected as a national project by the Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF), receiving support for preclinical research. The company aims to enter Phase 1 clinical trials by the end of 2026.

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