REYON Pharmaceutical (representative directors Sunok Jeong and Yonghwan Yoo) announced on the 14th that it has signed a joint development contract with Neuracle Science (CEO Bongcheol Kim) for the development of new drugs for various indications, including dementia and neurological diseases.

An official from REYON Pharmaceutical said, “In early December, the two companies decided to establish a strategic partnership to develop next-generation treatment, including equity investment, and since then, the two companies have conducted more detailed discussions for business cooperation. Through this contract, the two companies are planning to conduct joint development such as domestic clinical trials for a number of candidate antibodies for which Neuracle Science has applied for patents, and accordingly, REYON Pharmaceutical will own exclusive product rights in Korea.”

Neuracle Science CEO Bongcheol Kim said, “This agreement goes beyond a simple copyright agreement between Neuracle Science and REYON Pharmaceutical, and includes a joint development plan, including clinical trials, which is of great significance in that the two companies will co-develop together for the development of innovative therapeutics. Through cooperation with REYON Pharmaceutical, Neuracle Science is expected to play a role in enhancing the possibility of success in global clinical trials by conducting exploratory initial clinical trials for new antibody drugs by utilizing excellent Korean clinical trial infrastructure.”

Neuracle Science has secured a candidate substance (NS100) for a new antibody drug for the treatment of degenerative brain diseases, including dementia, based on its original patent for a new drug target that plays an important role in the progression of degenerative brain diseases, and the company is about to commence development of the necessary processes.

In the case of dementia, antibodies and synthetic drugs targeting mainly amyloid have been tried for the past 20 years, but the development of therapeutic agents has not yet been successful, and the hypothesis of amyloid as a cause of dementia is starting to buckle. However, just as immunotherapeutic drugs for the treatment of cancer have made breakthroughs in cancer treatment recently, the improvement of the microenvironment of the nervous system and the vascular system could present a new and important breakthrough in the treatment of degenerative brain diseases such as dementia.

Based on this, Neuracle Science has secured a total investment of KRW 20 billion from Quad Asset Management and Brahman Investments to date, and by the end of 2020, the company aims to commence a global clinical trial for a new antibody drug candidate (NS100) for the treatment of degenerative brain diseases.

In addition, Neuracle Science has derived a new candidate for obesity treatment (NS200) based on the research results of Professor Jaeyeong Seong of Korea University College of Medicine on GPCR ligands, and as an exploratory project, new drugs are being developed for new drug targets with neuromodulation mechanisms.

Representative director of REYON Pharmaceutical, Yonghwan Yoo said, “This contract is an opportunity for both companies to pursue future-oriented development and to challenge various new drug development fields. In the future, the two companies will expand mutual cooperation more closely, which will be an opportunity to create new models and leave a huge impression in the global bio market.”