Vivozon partners with AET to exclusively distribute posaconazole for fungal infections in Korea

Vivozon Pharmaceutical said on Tuesday it signed an agreement with German pharmaceutical company Alfred E. Tiefenbacher (AET) to exclusively distribute posaconazole, a treatment for fungal infections, in Korea.

Posaconazole is a second-generation triazole with antifungal activity and is indicated for the treatment of patients who do not respond to amphotericin B or itraconazole; the prevention of invasive fungal infections in patients receiving remission-induction chemotherapy for myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes; and the prevention of invasive infections in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients receiving high-dose immunosuppressive therapy for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

In immunocompromised patients after chemotherapy or organ transplantation, fungal infections are at high risk of leading to pneumonia, and the average mortality rate for invasive fungal infections in immunocompromised or underlying medical conditions is over 30 percent. 

However, currently, the only product containing posaconazole licensed in Korea is MSD Korea's Noxafil Gastro-resistant Tab. 100mg.

Vivozon Pharmaceutical plans to introduce posaconazole from Germany's AET. Posaconazole received the U.S. FDA approval and European Medicines Agency (EMA) marketing authorization in 2021.

"Graft-versus-host disease patients with transplant organ rejection need to take daily medication to prevent fungal infections, which costs 1.8 million won ($1,300) per month," said an official at Vivozon Pharmaceutical. "We will be able to supply high-quality fungal infection treatment approved in the U.S. and Europe at an affordable price as early as the middle of next year."