Selected as the best partner for Lotte’s plan to develop new drug and foster CMO business at the same time
NG Chem Life Science’s new drug EC-18, the world’s first PETA mechanism of action platform to treat inflammatory diseases
[바이오타임즈] Recently, as Lotte is known to be considering entering the bio business, attention is focused on NG Chem Life Sciences (183490, CEO Son Ki-young), which was mentioned as an equity acquisition company.
This interest was immediately reflected in the stock price. On the 23rd, NG Chem Life Sciences closed the market at 12,100 won, a 10.3% increase (11,400 won) compared to the previous trading day.
According to the business community on the 23rd, Lotte Group is discussing a plan to become the second largest shareholder by acquiring a part of the stake in NG Chem Life Science, a KOSDAQ listed company. In addition, it is reported that it plans to invest 150 billion won to establish a separate joint venture. Specific plans and timing are expected to be decided before and after the general shareholders’ meeting on the 26th.
Lotte said in a public announcement on the morning of the 23rd, “The bio business is currently being reviewed, and no specific decisions have been made so far. We will provide it within one month or when the specific matters are decided.”
The atmosphere is that the industry is accepting Lotte’s advance into the bio business as a pre-determined fact. It is believed that Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, who was stimulated by the success of Samsung and SK, who entered the bio field first, chose bio to find new foods.
Then, why did you always pick NG Chem Life Sciences? It is analyzed that NG Chem Life Science is the best partner that can realize Lotte’s plan to intensively foster not only new drug development but also consignment production (CMO) business.
NG Chem Life Sciences is a bio company established in 1999, and is simultaneously engaged in the development of new drugs and the CMO business.
It was transferred from KONEX to KOSDAQ in 2018, and its main pipeline is’Mocedipimod (EC-18)’, a new drug candidate based on ingredients extracted from antlers.
New drug substance’EC-18′ promotes intracellular recirculation of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs, TLRs) to quickly remove damage-linked molecule pattern (DAMP) and pathogen-linked molecule pattern (PAMP) accumulated in the body due to cell or tissue damage. First in Class PETA (PRR Endocytic Trafficking) that effectively treats inflammatory diseases such as oral mucositis (CRIOM), corona 19 infection, acute radiation syndrome, tumors, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) caused by anticancer chemoradiotherapy by normalizing the function. Accelerator) is a mechanism of action platform technology.
In the case of the development of a COVID-19 treatment using EC-18, the observation of the final subjects in the second phase of clinical trials has been terminated. In April, the future direction is expected to be determined through statistical analysis of the results. This substance is known to be capable of controlling cytokine storms (transient immune reactions), one of the leading causes of death in corona19 patients.
In addition, EC-18 was selected as a research project for space radiation treatment by NASA in January of this year and is actively conducting research.
Dr. Jiseon Park of NG Chem Life Sciences at the New York Health Forum said, “EC-18, which can be administered orally in a spacecraft environment where limited medical support is available, is already a powerful new drug candidate for various harmful environments including acute radiation syndrome (ARS) Is in the limelight. As a leading company in the space health field, NG Chem Life Sciences is looking forward to the opportunity to find a global cooperative partner in the development of space radiation therapy in the interest of US investment institutions and multinational pharmaceutical companies.”
Currently, NG Chem Life Sciences is actively discussing’EC-18′ with global Big Pharma officials on global technology licensing and clinical research cooperation. In particular, when the current EC-18 preclinical study for acute radiation syndrome (Animal Study) is completed, technology transfer is expected to be possible not only in Korea, but also to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the US Department of Defense (DoD).
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