Yungjin Pharmaceutical has secured the safety of “YPL-001,” a new drug to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in the phase 2a clinical trial conducted in the United States, the company said Tuesday.

Yungjin영진약품 conducted randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials on 61 COPD patients in critical condition at four U.S. hospitals, and confirmed the safety evaluation, pharmacokinetic-kinetic characteristics, and biological indicators.

The news on Yungjin’s completion of phase 2 clinical trials has increased interests in “YPL-001.”

According to the results of non-clinical trials and phase 1 clinical trials, the drug reportedly was effective in improving lung inflammation, increasing reduced steroid sensitivity, and work for both neutrophilic and eosinophilic COPD. These trials showed the drug also could improve lung function gradually.

Safety is also an important issue because COPD patients have to take drugs for a long time. The company confirmed safety in nonclinical trials, phase 1 clinical trials, and phase 2 clinical trials.

Yungjin said YPL-001 had secured safety by completing all toxicity tests, including chronic toxicity, reproducing toxicity and genetic toxicity, which occurs one time, every four weeks, every 26 weeks and every 39 weeks.

Now that the phase 2a clinical trials have been completed in the U.S., the Korean drugmaker will push for global technology transfer. It is considering advancing to U.S., European and Japanese markets, and plans to get approval and release it to market before 2020.

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