GemVax & KAEL (GemVax) said that the government has selected its Alzheimer’s treatment, GV1001, as a state research and development project for dementia.

The government has selected GemVax & KAEL's GV-1001 as part of the national dementia R&D project. (Gemvax)
The government has selected GemVax & KAEL's GV-1001 as part of the national dementia R&D project. (Gemvax)

The project, jointly promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, aims to develop treatments and technologies to overcome dementia. The government will spend 198.7 billion won ($183.2 million) to support comprehensive research and development on dementia prevention, diagnosis, and treatment until 2028.

The project has 22 tasks, such as developing dementia treatments, advancing dementia imaging technology, and finding early diagnosis technology. GemVax plans to sign a business agreement with the R&D project group before to carry out the task in earnest.

GV1001 is a peptide derived from hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase) composed of 16 amino acids. The enzyme telomerase maintains the length of the telomere located at the ends of chromosomes. The treatment has anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation cellular protective effects, and anti-cancer effects.

After conducting phase 2 clinical trial in Korea, the company confirmed statistically significant improvements in the severe impairment battery (SIB) score, the primary endpoint, and the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI) score, the secondary endpoint. Based on these results, GemVax is preparing to conduct a phase 3 clinical trial in Korea.

GemVax also aims to start a clinical trial for moderate Alzheimer's disease patients in the U.S. in the first half of next year and apply for additional clinical trials to treat mild Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment in the U.S. and EU.

"As GV1001 is the only global clinical trial project and most advanced among the government-led R&D projects, the company will do its best to prove its therapeutic effect," a company official said.

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