South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical said on Thursday it will lay out its strategy to accelerate drug development and its penetration into the global market during JP Morgan Healthcare Conference to be held in San Francisco on Jan. 13-16.

The company said the healthcare conference will be attended by Daewoong Pharm CEO Jeon Seung-ho and top R&D executives to share the company’s global strategy and research & development (R&D) vision during the session of Emerging Market Track.

JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, dubbed JPM, is the healthcare industry’s biggest conference in the world, and not only companies in the healthcare industry but also investors from all over the world pay great attention to this annual event, where a slew of new drug developments and even mergers and acquisitions among the industry players are announced.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical also pins high hope on the upcoming event as it is actively seeking to go global.

Key agenda include the company’s current status in the development of immunotherapy agents, the ongoing partnership with Britain-based Avacta Group and next steps for Nabota, Korea’s first botulinum toxin product approved both in North America and Europe.

Daewoong Pharm already agreed with Avacta Group, the developer of Affimer biotherapeutics and reagents, to establish a joint venture in South Korea and to co-develop new cell and gene therapies incorporating Affimer proteins to enhance the immune-modulatory effects.

Daewoong Pharm will also release its roadmap on Fexuprazan, an investigational next-generation drug to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease, hoping to carve out a niche in the global market currently valued at 40 trillion won ($34.4 billion). A phase 3 study of Fexuprazan was completed in Korea last year and local marketing approval is filed. Global clinical trials are now prepared, the company said.

It will also provide detailed information on its pipeline of DWP212525, a potential first-in-class autoimmune disease drug, and DWN12088, an idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis drug.

By Kim Si-gyun and Minu Kim

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]