- Raloxifene, COVID-19 inhibitory effect... Technology transfer contract for 10 antiviral drugs -
- One of the Pangyo-based companies Huons starts developing antiviral drugs including COVID-19 treatment drug
With the attendance of GBSA (Gyeonggido Business & ScienceAccelerator) President Kim Ki-jun, Huons (CEO Eom Ki-an) concluded the contractfor “Technology Transfer and Joint R&D for Raloxifene and 10 New Substanceswith Proven COVID-19 and Virus Inhibitory Effect” at its headquarters inPangyo.
Huons was first selected as the preferred subject for discussion for becomingthe “Company for COVID-19 Antiviral Substance and Use Patent TechnologyTransfer” hosted by the GBSA, and this was followed by the conclusion of themain contract.
This led to the smooth cooperation between Huons and GBSA, and it plans tocommercialize raloxifene as a COVID-19 treatment drug as quickly as possiblewith the information owned by the government-affiliated organizations,development capabilities of private companies, exchange of overseas clinicaland business advancement know-hows. and joint research.
Huons will supply raloxifene to the clinical trial committee for clinicaltrials, and also start research to find the most effective customizedformulation for treatment. As the members of the clinical council, AjouUniversity Medical Center, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Gyeonggi MedicalCenter, and GBSA will be participating.
Raloxifene is an osteoporosis treatment drug that has been confirmed to inhibitCOVID-19 by joint research between the GBSA and the KCDC (Korea Centers forDisease Control and Prevention) National Institute of Health.
In Exscalate4COV, the project using a supercomputing platform in which the EUis running for the development of COVID-19 treatment drug, raloxifene was foundout to have COVID-19 inhibitory effect. So, both the national and globalmedical field are watching closely for the possibility of raloxifene becoming atreatment drug for COVID-19. As it is a drug that is currently on the market,it signifies that it has already been proven to be safe on the human body.
Huons has also secured exclusive rights to 10 antiviral substances which GBSAis researching to correspond to a new infectious disease virus that can occuranytime, even when the COVID-19 ends. These substances have been confirmed tobe effective for inhibiting infectious viruses that have spread worldwide suchas MERS and SARS. In addition to the development of COVID-19 treatment, Huonsplans to continue research on the development of antiviral drugs that can fightnew mutant viruses.
GBSA President Kim Ki-jun said, "I am very pleased to start this projectwith Huons, which has extensive experience in pharmaceutical R&D,commercialization, and overseas expansion. Through close collaboration withHuons, we will speed up the development of COVID-19 treatment drugs."
Huons CEO Eom Ki-an said, "As the spread of infectious diseases is lastinglonger than we expected, the importance of developing antiviral drugs willincrease more in the future. We will work with GBSA to exchange technology andknow-how to develop raloxifene and other treatment drugs that can fight variousinfectious diseases."
With this success, Pangyo Techno Valley, where innovativecompanies in the IT, BT, and NT fields create synergies with each other and afoothold to grow into a global company is made, made another step forward tostrengthen its reputation as the Silicon Valley in Asia.