Liveome, a subsidiary of Kosdaq-listed Medytox, said on Tuesday it has signed a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) agreement with Australia’s Luina Bio and Britain’s Quay Pharma to develop and produce its investigational inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) drug LIV001. The contract marks a full start of commercial development of the compound.

Liveome was established last year for novel drug development based on live biotherapeutic product (LBP) assets from Medytox. Liveome has the next-generation dual LBP platform technology and is rapidly expanding its pipeline of new compounds for intractable disorders with natural microbiome-based platform technology `N-LBP` and `E-LBP` designed to maximize treatment efficacy using gene editing.

LIV001, one of Liveome’s leading drug candidates, is being developed for the treatment of IBD based on the E-LBP platform technology. Liveome said the drug is designed to maximize therapeutic efficacy by regulating immune function and to ensure safety. In a recent animal model, the drug demonstrated efficacy and safety in acute and chronic enteritis.

With the CDMO agreement, Liveome plans to start building a cell bank, developing a production process, and producing samples for clinical trials. The company also aims to complete non-clinical testing for toxicity within this year and enter global clinical trials in 2023.

By Han Jae-beom and Minu Kim

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