Daewoong Pharmaceutical said it would develop a chronic skin disease treatment jointly with Scai Therapeutics, a drug delivery platform bio-venture, using transdermal absorption technology.
The two companies will apply Scai Therapeutics' proprietary technology to develop a transdermal absorbable formulation with substances that have increased solubility and absorption in the body. They plan to focus first on researching and developing treatments for various chronic skin diseases.
Scai Therapeutics will supply the drug substance with improved bioavailability. Daewoong will develop the raw material into a drug product and be in charge of preclinical and clinical trials.
"The combination of Scai Therapeutics' unique drug delivery platform and Daewoong Pharmaceutical's innovative research technology will help us secure a new transdermal absorption formulation pipeline," Daewoong Pharmaceutical CEO Jeon Seung-ho said. "Through this agreement, we will build a long-term cooperative relationship between Scai Therapeutics and Daewoong Pharmaceutical."
Scai Therapeutics CEO Kim Chul-whan said, "We are delighted to receive recognition for the technological prowess possessed by our company through this agreement."
Through research cooperation with Daewoong, which has excellent new drug development capabilities, the company will strive to show results in developing transdermal absorbed formulations, Kim added.
Transdermal absorption formulations show efficacy when applied or attached to the skin.
According to Daewoong, unlike general oral preparations, transdermal absorption formulations do not go through the gastrointestinal tract, so it has the advantage of avoiding digestive side effects or inactivation of drugs due to the first-pass effect in the liver.
However, as the drug crystallizes over time, a phenomenon that affects drug efficacy may occur.
However, by applying Scai Therapeutics' MOASISTM platform technology, which can improve solubility, the two companies expect that it will be possible to commercialize drugs that have been difficult to develop due to low absorption and solubility.