Maximizing JW Pharma's platform technology

JW Pharma Introduces U.S. Venture Capital's Biotechnology Program

Strengthen the potential of new drug development of JWELRY & CLOVER, which are self-constructed platforms

JW Group is implementing an active open innovation strategy to maximize R&D capabilities.

 

In order to boost the potential of two core platform technologies developed by themselves, they are mobilizing all resources that can be utilized from domestic bio ventures to overseas investment institutions.

 

According to industries on the 13th, JW Group signed a business agreement with ARCH Venture Partners, a U.S.

 

venture capital (VC).

 

ARCH Venture Partners is the largest venture capital in the United States that invests in companies with early innovative technologies in the healthcare field.

 

It is recognized for commercializing technologies developed by academic institutions, corporate research institutes, and national research institutes, and is investing in companies jointly established by major scientists and entrepreneurs to showcase innovations in life and physical science to the market.

 

JW Group will be provided with the ARCH technical service program under this business agreement.

 

ATS provides promising biotech and technical information selected by ARCH Venture Partners to strategic investors interested in business cooperation with venture companies around the world.

 

This is the first time for a domestic pharmaceutical company to work together with a VC specializing in bio and healthcare in the U.S.

 

for open innovation in the field of discovery stage.

 

The reason why JW Group joined hands with ARCH Venture Partners is to maximize its own platform technology.

 

JW Group is currently operating a new drug development program using two platform technologies, JWELRY and CLOVER.

 

Its goal is to discover new targets that can increase the utilization of these platform technologies by utilizing ARCH Venture Partners' ATS program.

 

Both JWELRY and CLOVER are big data platforms based on chemical and bioinformatics built by JW Pharmaceutical.

 

JWELRY is a platform that distinguishes between activity and inhibition of Wnt signals.

 

Wnt signaling pathways are preserved across all species, from nematodes and fruit flies to mammals, and play an essential role in cell proliferation or differentiation, animal organ development, and morphogenesis.

 

Although the Wnt signaling pathway is involved in many diseases, there are no new drugs involved in this pathway so far.

 

It is developing a treatment for hair loss (JW0061).

 

The blood cancer and stomach cancer treatment (CWP291), developed based on the Wnt platform, is undergoing phase 1 clinical trials worldwide.

 

New drugs are also being developed in the field of immune disease and tissue regeneration.

 

CLOVER is a big data platform that accumulates cancer cell lines, tissues, genetic information and compounds, as well as pharmacological efficacy prediction data.

 

CLOVER, which is capable of deriving low-molecular substances that inhibit or activate STAT signals, is evaluated as a platform capable of overall performance of mechanical and biomarker studies.

 

STAT is an essential signaling system that regulates cell growth, mutation, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis.

 

Abnormal STAT signals can cause various diseases affecting the skin, cancer, and immune system.

 

JW Pharma has discovered more than 10 species through CLOVER so far.

 

Among them, atopic dermatitis treatment (JW1601), gout treatment (URC102), and solid cancer treatment (JW2286) have entered the clinical stage.

 

In addition, atopic dermatitis treatment and gout treatment were exported to global companies, respectively.

 

JW Pharma signed a technology export contract with Leo Pharma in August 2018 for JW1601, an atopic dermatitis treatment.

 

The total amount of contracts, including 17 million dollars in down payment, is 402 million dollars.

 

In August 2019, Nanjing Simcere Dongyuan Pharmaceutical signed a technology export contract for the gout treatment URC102.

 

The down payment is $5 million and the total down payment is $70 million.

 

JW Pharma is expanding joint research with domestic bio companies to maximize the potential of its own new drug development technology.

 

JW Pharma signed a joint research contract with bio-venture ILIAS Biologics last month.

 

It is about developing a target type exosome treatment equipped with a low-molecular anticancer drug.

 

The contract aims to develop a global innovative new drug that applies ILIAS's own exosome platform technology to low-molecular anticancer new drug candidates secured by JW Pharmaceutical.

 

Earlier, JW Pharmaceutical also signed a joint research cooperation contract with Voronoi, SyntekaBio, Oncocross, and Organoidscience.

 

The study with Voronoi is a method of applying Voronoi's (PROTAC; Proteolysis-targeting chimera) technology to JW Pharm's STAT3 target low-molecular anticancer drug candidates.

 

PROTAC is a new drug development platform that removes target proteins using the in vivo proteolysis system.

 

During the development process, Voronoi is in charge of designing compounds, synthesizing them, and deriving clinical candidate materials, while JW Pharm is in charge of intermediate clinical research including candidate material evaluation.

 

SyntekaBio and Oncocross are pushing to develop new drugs using AI.

 

JW Pharma has been discovering candidate materials for innovative new drugs for SyntekaBio and specific protein targets since last year.

 

It is jointly planning innovative new drug tasks that work on specific proteins and speeding up the discovery of innovative new drug candidates with DeepMatcher, an AI platform owned by SyntekaBio, and drug 3D simulation technology.

 

Since March, JW Pharma has been exploring new indications of new drug candidates and existing drugs with Oncocross and verifying the possibility of development.

 

Oncocross has a RAPTOR AI platform.

 

RAPTOR AI is an R&D platform that screens for optimal indications for new drug candidates or previously developed drugs, increasing the probability of clinical success and shortening the development period.

 

In May, it signed a joint research contract with Organoids.

 

It builds an R&D platform that makes Organoid's genomic information into DB.

 

Organoid develops an organoid model using tissue samples from patients, and JW Pharma is responsible for decoding the genes of the organoid model and building a platform that accumulates the information.

 

JW Pharma's R&D investment is also increasing.

 

JW Pharma estimated this year's R&D investment cost at 85 billion won, up 65.7% from last year.