Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Wednesday that the company and Hanall Biopharma would expand their “open collaboration” by jointly investing in the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry.

Daewoong and Hanall have invested in NurrOn Pharmaceuticals' Series A round for developing novel therapies for Parkinson's disease, for starters. In addition, the two companies will increase communications with U.S. biopharmaceutical experts on the occasion of their investment in the new drug developer.

They acquired the equity stake of NurrOn Pharmaceuticals worth $1 million and secured the right to preferentially negotiate a drug candidate for a Parkinson's disease treatment under development.

NurrOn Pharmaceuticals' drug candidate targets Nurr1, an orphan nuclear receptor, and spurs dopamine production. Parkinson's disease is caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra in the midbrain. The candidate substance relieves the disease’s symptoms by protecting the dopaminergic neurons.

The company is conducting a preclinical trial and plans to submit a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to administer an investigational drug and begin clinical trials in the first half of 2022.

NurrOn Pharmaceuticals is developing therapies for various central nervous system diseases, including Parkinson's disease. The company was founded by Professor Kwang-soo Kim of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Department at Harvard University School of Medicine and ICU Medical's former CEO, George A. Lopez. Dr. Kim Deog-joong, who has 35 years of drug development experience as the vice president of Rexhan Pharmaceuticals, is now serving as the CEO of NurrOn Pharmaceuticals.

"Hanall Biopharma will challenge new areas of disease that Hanol has not dealt with in the past through the open global collaboration," Hanall Biopharma CEO Jeong Seung-won said.

NurrOn Pharmaceuticals CEO Kim said, "We will work closely with Daewoong Pharmaceutical and Hanall Biopharma to develop world-class novel drugs through the joint development."