C&C Research Laboratories secures national R&D grant for STAT6-targeted eosinophilic esophagitis therapy

C&C Research Laboratories, a Korea-based biotech firm under JW Pharmaceutical, said its STAT6-targeted eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) treatment program has been selected for funding under the first-round projects of the 2025 Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF).

Established in 1992 as Korea’s first Korea-Japan joint biotech venture by JW Pharmaceutical and Chugai Pharmaceutical, a member of the Roche Group, C&C became a wholly owned subsidiary of JW in 2020.

The KDDF is a pan-ministerial national R&D initiative launched in 2021 to boost the global competitiveness of Korea’s pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Over a ten-year period, the program aims to strengthen the domestic new drug development ecosystem and drive both global commercialization and public health impact by supporting the entire R&D cycle.

As part of the program, C&C will receive research funding for 16 months to advance its lead compound that directly inhibits the STAT6 protein. The company aims to optimize the compound for oral delivery and establish key preclinical data as it moves toward non-clinical development. However, the company did not unveil how much it will receive through the funding.

Eosinophilic esophagitis is a rare and chronic inflammatory disease driven by excessive type 2 (Th2) immune responses in the esophagus. Current treatment options are limited, and the condition is often marked by low patient compliance with steroids and biologics, as well as frequent relapse or resistance. These challenges have created a strong unmet need for new mechanism-based therapies.

STAT6 is a transcription factor activated by IL-4 and IL-13 signaling and plays a central role in Th2 inflammation. It is known to regulate the expression of eotaxin, a key chemokine that recruits eosinophils to the esophagus.

C&C has secured a lead compound that selectively inhibits STAT6 and has demonstrated both anti-inflammatory effects and suppression of Th2 gene expression in cell and animal models.

The candidate compound was discovered using JW’s proprietary AI-powered drug discovery platform, JWave. The web-based platform is designed to integrate artificial intelligence across the full drug discovery cycle -- from target identification to lead optimization.

“STAT6 is a key regulator of type 2 inflammation, and our lead compound holds promise as a first-in-class therapy for a range of immune diseases, including rare disorders,” a C&C Research Laboratories official said. “We will continue leveraging our AI-based platform to develop innovative therapies that address high unmet medical needs.”