Huons picked for national project to stabilize orphan and essential drug supply

Huons, the flagship company of the Huons Group, said Monday it has undertaken a national project to stabilize the supply of orphan and essential drugs and initiated efforts to expand treatment rights of patients with rare and incurable diseases in Korea.

Huons said it has been selected as the developer of phase 2, round 3 of the “Stable Supply of National Essential Drugs” research project, supervised by the Korea Orphan & Essential Drug Center (KOEDC).

The “Stable Supply of National Essential Drugs” research project is a government initiative that supports technology development to ensure the stability of the supply of essential drugs for patients, which are often subject to unstable availability.

The products selected for the national project are Sodium Acetate Injection and Flecainide Injection. Huons will conduct research for one year with government funding of about 170 million won ($122,040) per item annually.

Sodium acetate injection is an essential drug used for the prevention and correction of hyponatremia, as well as for the diagnosis of Brugada syndrome and the emergency treatment of severe cardiac arrhythmias. However, due to low prescription volumes and a limited market size, both of these drugs are currently reliant on imports for their supply. As a result, in the event of supply disruptions, a prompt response is difficult, making stable supply management at the national level essential.

Through this project, Huons plans to secure domestic production technology for these products and promote a localization strategy to establish a stable supply chain. This will create a foundation to reliably supply essential treatments to patients and contribute to strengthening the national healthcare safety net.

Huons plans to undertake this project based on its accumulated R&D capabilities and advanced manufacturing facilities in the injectable drug sector. Huons said it is determined to solidify its position as a leading company capable of reliably producing and supplying orphan essential drugs needed by the nation.

“The stable supply of national orphan essential drugs is challenging if considered solely from a market perspective; however, approaching it from an ESG standpoint through public-private partnership is necessary to ensure patient safety and treatment rights,” Huons CEO Song Soo-young said. “Based on this project, Huons will secure high-quality production technology for orphan and essential drugs and continue to make efforts to promote public health and fulfill its social responsibilities.”