Korea Pharma said it has signed an exclusive development and commercialization contract for Methydur, a pediatric attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment developed by Taiwan's Orient Pharmaceuticals.

According to Korea Pharma, Methydur is a pediatric ADHD treatment that received approval in Taiwan in 2018 after completing four exploratory trials and a phase 3 clinical trial on 113 patients.

By grafting Oradur technology, which fills the capsule with a high-viscosity liquid in the form of a gel to control the drug release rate without losing the characteristics of a sustained-release formulation, and at the same time, prevent misuses, such as injection and inhalation, the product reduces the side effects of central nervous system (CNS) drugs and significantly improves the risk of drug abuse.

The drug has also significantly improved the convenience of taking for pediatric patients by reducing the capsule size compared to other products on the market.

"Through this contract, it is now possible to provide clinically improved therapeutics to children and adolescents with ADHD in Korea, which is increasing yearly," Korea Pharma CEO Park Eun-hee said. "We expect that we will be able to provide safer and more effective drugs to children and adolescents who need to be protected from safety and risk of misuse."

Korea Pharma plans to expand its position by improving the profit structure and increasing sales through a strategy change aimed at restructuring its product lineup to center around original and incrementally improved drugs rather than its existing generics.