Electroceutical, a medical device that aims to achieve therapeutic effects by directly stimulating electric current to the human body, is emerging as a new growth engine for Korean biopharmaceutical companies.

In Korea, electroceuticals are classified as medical devices and are subject to approval under the general medical device guidelines.

However, they are differentiated from conventional medical devices in that they are not limited to alleviating diseases but are aimed at treating diseases like conventional medicines.

They are also different from dietary supplements in that their therapeutic effects are verified through clinical trials, approved, and provided to patients with a doctor's prescription.

The pharmaceutical industry is investing heavily in the field of electroceuticals because they are gaining attention as an alternative to replace or complement existing chemical drugs. According to industry watchers, electroceuticals have relatively fewer side effects because they are limited to a specific site or target organ.

They can also be combined with pharmaceutical drugs to increase the effectiveness of treatment.

Moreover, traditional pharmaceutical companies are also showing interest as e-drugs have the potential to create new markets. According to global market research firm IDTechEx, the electroceutical market is growing at more than 10 percent annually and is expected to reach $60 billion (about 72 trillion won) by 2029.

As a result, either collaboration with or investment in startups specializing in electroceuticals has been increasing.

Dong-A Pharmaceutical signed an exclusive distribution agreement with electronic drug research and development company Nu Eyne for a migraine relief medical device in Korea last Tuesday.

The migraine relief medical device is a wearable device that is attached to the forehead and has two functions -- acute mode to relieve pain and preventive mode to reduce the frequency of attacks.

By applying microcurrent stimulation to the trigeminal nerve located around the forehead, it produces neuromodulation to relieve migraines or reduce their frequency.

With the signing of this supply agreement, Dong-A Pharmaceutical will be the only company in Korea to exclusively sell Nu Eyne's migraine relief medical devices that have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 510K and EU's CE-MDD certification.

Nu Eyne will be in charge of production and product after-sales service for the medical device.

The two companies previously signed a mutual business agreement in November last year for clinical research and business development of technologies to treat chronic diseases such as migraine, dry eye, and sleep improvement.

The signing of this agreement is expected to further strengthen the collaboration between the two companies.

SK Biopharmaceuticals and SK agreed to jointly participate in a Series D investment in Cala Health, a U.S. company specializing in electroceuticals.

Cala is a Silicon Valley-based electronic medicine company that has developed an electronic medicine that can be worn like a wristwatch to treat Parkinson's disease and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2019.

The investment is expected to be highly synergistic with SK Biopharmaceuticals' ongoing digital healthcare business.

Since 2018, SK Biopharmaceuticals has been researching and developing algorithms and devices for detecting and predicting epileptic seizures.

Chong Kun Dang also signed a domestic co-promotion agreement with YBrain, a mental health e-drug platform company, in February, for its depression electroceutical MINDD STIM, which is the world's first prescription electroceutical with a monotherapy indication for depression.

The device uses electrical stimulation to relieve and treat mild to moderate depressive symptoms. It helps to normalize the function of the frontal lobe by applying minute electrical stimulation.

It received a medical device item license from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in April 2021.

Under the agreement, Chong Kun Dang will exclusively distribute MINDD STIM to psychiatrists in Korea and will conduct various marketing activities, such as academic activities and product education, to ensure smooth sales of the product.

YBrain will be in charge of product installation, consumer response such as customer inquiries and claims, and after-sales service such as defect repair.

Hanmi Pharm and KT, one of Korea's top three telecom companies, said that they have jointly invested in digital therapeutics and electroceutical developer Digital Pharm, a subsidiary of the Catholic University of Korea's holdings company, in June of last year.

The three companies will commercialize digital treatment devices for addiction symptoms such as alcohol and nicotine and electroceuticals for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).