Dx&Vx said Wednesday that it has hired Lim Chang-ki, an expert in peptide drug development and linkage technology, as the managing director to head its third team for new drug research.

Lim is a former director of the Bio Research Center of Hanmi Pharm and has served as director of the Bio Research Institute of the Huons Group, general manager of the Biomedicine Division of Ahngook Pharmaceutical, and general manager of the R&D Strategy Division of CentricsBio.

He has extensive experience developing new drugs, including peptide and recombinant protein drug development, anticancer antibody drug development, biopharmaceutical efficacy evaluation, investigational new drugs, and license out for clinical entry.

Considering his experience in leading the development of peptide drugs and anticancer drugs, Dx&Vx expects Lim to contribute to the accelerated development and early commercialization of the OVM-200 anticancer vaccine in collaboration with Oxford Vacmedix.

OVM-200 is a recombinant overlapping peptide (ROP)-based cancer vaccine developed by Dx&Vx in collaboration with Oxford Vacmedix. It is now in phase 1b clinical trials. Following the signing of this agreement, Dx&Vx will pursue late-stage clinical trials in Korea, China, and Asia.

“By hiring a peptide development expert, we will upgrade the ROP technology in which we are collaborating with Oxford Vacmedix to the next level and accelerate the development speed,” a Dx&Vx official said. “We plan to finalize the license agreement as soon as possible and promote early commercialization through a rapid development program, including full-scale late-stage clinical trials and accelerated approval.”