Daewoong Pharmaceutical has presented clinical trial results on DWP212525, an autoimmune disease treatment candidate, at the 2019 American College of Rheumatology and the Association of Rheumatology Professionals Annual Meeting.

Daewoong headquarters in Samsung-dong, southern Seoul.

In people with autoimmune diseases, T cells and B cells, which are involved in immune response, are excessively activated. Rheumatoid arthritis is a representative autoimmune disease in which immune cells such as T cells and B cells, which are supposed to attack viruses, invade and attack the patient’s body, the company said.

DWP212525 is an oral therapeutic agent that selectively inhibits JAK3 (Janus Kinase 3) and TFK (TEC family kinase), involved in the activation of immune cells.

Unlike conventional treatments that are generally limited to T-cell or B-cell inhibition, the treatment is the world's first innovative new drug that simultaneously targets and inhibits T and B cells.

Daewoong confirmed the inhibition of JAK3 and TFK activity in cell experiments. Based on a mouse experiment, the company also confirmed that the treatment has an excellent disease improvement rate and the effect of inhibiting disease-causing factors for pemphigus, a rare autoimmune skin disease.

The treatment has also proved to be effective against rheumatoid arthritis at 1/50 dose of conventional therapies and protecting bones from additional damage.

"The company was able to confirm the interest and expectations of new mechanism research for DWP212525 by global healthcare industry officials," said Park Joon-seok, head of Daewoong's new drug development center. "By entering clinical trials at the end of 2020, we will lead the development of global new drugs for patients with various autoimmune diseases such as pemphigus, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, and contribute to the improvement of quality of life for patients."

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