Vivozon said Thursday that it has completed a patent registration in China for VVZ-2471, an oral, non-opioid analgesic in development. It is the drug’s third overseas patent registration, following the United States and South Africa.

VVZ-2471 is a new drug candidate developed with non-preserved multitarget drug discovery technology, which has analgesic efficacy and drug addiction treatment effects. Vivozon is developing the drug as a treatment for neuropathic pain in Korea and as a treatment for drug addiction in the U.S.

Vivozon received domestic approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last June for the phase 2 clinical trial IND of VVZ-2471 for postherpetic neuralgia patients. Results are expected this year. The company plans to use it to treat pain, in combination with the 38th homegrown new drug, Unafra Injection (opiranserine hydrochloride).

In the U.S., it is preparing for phase 2 to develop VVZ-2471 as a drug addiction treatment. To this end, the company has applied for a grant from the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and is collaborating with local experts.

“There is an absence of a non-narcotic analgesic with efficacy comparable to narcotic analgesics in the painkiller market,” a Vivozon official said. “We will develop VVZ-2471 as a non-narcotic acute and chronic oral analgesic and lead the global painkiller market with Unafra.”