Hanmi-GC sign MOU for new drug R&D partnership

Two companies to co-develop next generation ERT treating rare disease

Collaboration to cover candidate medicine exploration to commercialization

Hanmi Pharmaceutical and GC Pharma have inked the first new drug R&D partnership deal in the history.

 

Two companies would concentrate their R&D capacity to increase the possibility of successful development of an innovative new drug.

 

On Feb.

 

27, Hanmi Pharmaceutical and GC Pharma have announced the two have signed MOU on co-developing next generation enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for rare disease on Feb.

 

26.

 

At the GC Pharma headquarter, Hanmi Pharmaceutical President and CEO Kwon Se-chang and GC Pharma CEO Huh Eun Chul were convened at MOU signing ceremony along with other major R&D associates of two companies.

 

The MOU promises two companies’ collaboration of candidate medicine exploration to the investigational drug commercialization targeting lysosomal storage disease (LSD).

 

Based on Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s agent patent, GC Pharma is to lend their hands on developing the agent.

 

Containing many hydrolysis enzymes, lysosome is a small organelle in a cell that functions as digestive system.

 

However, excessive storage of lysosome could cause severe metabolic disease leading up to death.

 

Apparently, about 4,000 patients in Korea are suffering from LSD.

 

There are about 50 rare diseases induced by lysosomal storage.

 

Currently, LSD patients are treated with ERT that intravenously injects enzyme made from a patient’s genetic recombination.

 

The point of the MOU is to develop a breakthrough ERT that significantly enhances safety, half-life, administration convenience, and financial burden of the first generation treatment.

 

Two companies aim to result in innovative new drug development by integrating Hanmi Pharmaceutical and GC Pharma’s R&C capacity.

 

The plan is to maximize R&D synergy through sharing material resource, human resource, and R&D collaboration.

 

R&D partnership between Hanmi Pharmaceutical and GC Pharma is a first time.

 

Both companies anticipate raising the potential of new drug development by converging Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s new drug development capacity and GC Pharma’s rare disease treatment development expertise.

 

GC Phrama has a history of developing Hunterase, a treatment for Hunter syndrome, a kind of LSDs.

 

President Kwon Se-chang of Hanmi Pharmaceutical said, “GC Pharma has specialized expertise in rare disease sector, but more importantly it sets out a vision of innovation.

 

We hope to present hopes to patients suffering from rare disease by putting together Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s rich experience in R&D and GC Pharma’s specialized expertise.” GC Pharma CEO Huh Eun Chul stressed, “We are more than thrilled to collaborate with Hanmi Pharmaceutical making new histories in pharmaceutical R&D in Korea.

 

The R&D partnership of two companies with respective strengths would bridge the next generation treatment development in rare disease to an improvement in innovative treatment environment.”