Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s subsidiary iN Therapeutics said it raised 26 billion won ($21.6 million) bridge capital for new drug development.

Last year, iN Therapeutics successfully attracted 14 billion won of Series A investment.

The temporary funding came from new investors, Stic Ventures and Intervest, and existing investors that participated in the Series A investment -- Kiwoon Investment, E&Investment, Dayli Partners, Yuanta Investment, Aju IB Investment, Shinhan Capital, and Timefolio Asset Management.

iN Therapeutics is testing iN1011-N17, an investigational non-narcotic drug for osteoarthritis pain, in a phase 1 study in Australia and preparing a phase 2 trial in Europe.

iN Therapeutics plans to use the bridge capital to complete the phase 2 study in Europe and license out the drug to a multinational pharmaceutical company.

The company will also speed up research on eight pipelines, including hearing loss treatment and brain disease therapy.

iN Therapeutics is eyeing an initial public offering (IPO) in 2025.

“We have successfully held the first Ion Channel Neuroscience Symposium, becoming a leader in neuroscience research,” iN Therapeutics CEO Park Chong-deok said.

He said that the company was in talks with multiple global drugmakers to discuss technology transfer regarding the development of the non-narcotic osteoarthritis pain reliever.

Park vowed to develop the new drug successfully and make it a global blockbuster drug.

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