Chong Kun Dang said Monday that it has gathered European clinical researchers that are working on CKD-506, an autoimmune disease drug candidate, to carry out the phase 2a clinical trial for the drug.

Approximately about 100 researchers and officials from five European countries, including Russia, participated in the meeting.

CKD-506 is a novel agent for the treatment of autoimmune diseases that suppress inflammation and inhibits histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), which affects a variety of inflammatory diseases, and maintains immune homeostasis by enhancing the function of immunosuppressed T cells.

The company had confirmed the feasibility of CKD-506 as an arthritis treatment and its potential for development as a new drug in non-clinical studies using an animal model. It also successfully conducted a phase 1 clinical trial to confirm the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic characteristics of the drug candidate earlier this year.

During the phase 2a clinical trial, the company plans to confirm the effect of treatment on arthritis patients. Chong Kun Dang intends to begin the clinical trials by the end of this year and finish the research by 2020.

“The company held the meeting so that global researchers could share plans and ideas for the successful phase 2 clinical trial for CKD-506,” a company official said. “The clinical trial will further demonstrate the potential of CKD-506 as an innovative drug.”