– Active initiation of COVID-19 treatment development based on ‘DW-MSC,’ an independent technology amplifying stem cell’s effects
– Looking forward to the innovative contribution to treat incurable bone defect diseases with ‘Novosis,’ a bone-forming protein medical device
‘Stem Cell Treatment,’ which is expected to be the next-generation cell treatment to overcome various incurable diseases, is rapidly rising as a keyword of the bio-regenerative industry. With the prolongation of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic being inevitable, research in the stem cell• regenerative medicine field is expected to be significantly active.
According to the ‘Global Stem Cell Market Forecast 2017-2025’ report published in 2017 by InkWood, a research company, the global stem cell market is expected to grow rapidly, starting from $62.8 billion in 2017 and continue its growth to $394.4 billion in 2025. With the increase in clinical trials on stem cell treatment and other technology and the revitalization of new drug development based on stem cells, the global stem cell market is expected to steadily expand with an average annual growth rate of 25.8% (’17-’25).
A total of 7 stem cell treatment products have been released in the global market, but the stem cell treatments in the market tend to have low satisfaction rates on its effects compared to its price. Currently, many pharmaceutical corporations are continuously striving to improve the regenerative medicine field by reducing costs through establishing a mass production system and fostering indications with outstanding treatment effects.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical, a global healthcare corporation in Korea, introduced its stem cell platform ‘DW-MSC’ to develop new treatments for restoring tissue functions, such as organ damages that are not treatable with medicine alone and neurodegenerative diseases. DW-MSC has superior competitiveness along with high future utilization tendencies with its availability for stem cell technology industrialization and various industry technology combinations. Since 2018, DW-MSC’s safety in the human body has been proven by the toxicity and tumorigenicity assessment by the GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) certification institution.
Another advantage of DW-MSC is that the mass production of stem cell treatment of certified quality can be possible as it produces stem cells that originated from one-donor cells that passed strict quality assessments. This is a technology first introduced domestically by Daewoong Pharmaceutical, which is expected to maximize the effect of commercialization and distribution of stem cells.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical is establishing a cGMP level production facility for the production and development of cell treatments to apply stem cell platform technology by the second half of 2020, and is expected to enter the stage of production capability from 2021. In addition, it is receiving positive reviews in terms of commercialization and securing the competitiveness of the stem cell treatment since it is manufactured in a form that can be frozen and stored for immediate use for patients in the hospital.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s differentiated stem cell platform technology has been acknowledged by external experts for its value and is actively carrying out ‘Open Collaboration’ domestically and internationally. Open Collaboration refers to an open innovation strategy for combining ideas and technologies through cooperation with experts in the particular field, business partners, and the government.
“Cooperative research of clinical researchers is a vital success factor in the development of stem cell treatment,” Jeon Seung-ho, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical said. “We aspire to lead the new drug development in the cell/genetic treatment field to improve quality of life through co-research with stem cell researchers from different fields by securing growth factors, stem cell cultivation technology, and GMP equipment with high researcher demands.”
Daewoong Infion leading the pharmaceutical industry with ‘DWP710,’ a treatment for COVID-19’s dyspnea symptoms utilizing DW-MSC
‘Daewoong Infion (CEO: Chang-woo Suh),’ Daewoong Group’s joint venture in Indonesia, announced the initiation of clinical trials for ‘DWP710,’ a treatment for COVID-19’s dyspnea symptoms utilizing ‘DW-MSC,’ an independent technology regarding stem cells.
“The stem cell COVID-19 treatment, ‘DWP710’ entered the clinical trial process through a kick-off meeting with the Ministry of Health on the 13th,” said Nova Angginy, chief researcher at Daewoong Infion.
Daewoong Infion explained the clinical protocols of ‘DWP710’ and Daewoong Group’s stem cell technology ‘DW-MSC’ and delivered protective gear for supporting COVID-19 treatments at the meeting. ‘DW-MSC’ is Daewoong Group’s advanced technology amplifying the effects of stem cells, utilizing serum-free and xeno-free materials in the mesenchymal stem cell cultivation process, proved its effects on treating infection and inflammation from viruses, bacteria, and wounds through various inflammatory ability assessments.
Daewoong Infion aims to enter phase 2 clinical trials of ‘DWP710’ by the first quarter of 2021. Under the emergency authorization process based on the active cooperation of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Daewoong Infion plans to swiftly distribute treatments after the completion of phase 2 clinical trials to overcome COVID-19. Daewoong Infion’s ‘DWP710’ was authorized of its phase 1 clinical trial last month, and was selected as the ministry of health’s cooperative project on the 6th.
The clinical trial will be conducted at ‘RSUP Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo’ hospital, which specializes in COVID-19 treatment with diverse experience in global clinical trials on pharmaceutics, and will recruit patients from the third week of August to secure the phase 1 results by October. It aims to submit the phase 2 clinical trial proposal for approval in Republic of Korea and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Daewoong Infion decided to conduct research and development of COVID-19 treatment candidates apart from ‘DWP710,’ ‘Niclosamide’ and ‘Camostat’ with the cooperation of ‘RSUP Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo’ hospital. The two products are anticipating effects on treating mild and severe COVID-19 patients.
Anticipation for regenerative treatment on bone damage with ‘Novosis,’ a bone-forming protein medical device
Novosis, a bone-forming protein medical device, is a carrier-based synthetic bone graft combining bone stimulating protein rhBMP-2 (recombinant human bone protein-2), which helps to differentiate stem cells in the human body into bone cells when bones are damaged, thereby facilitating the creation of new bones.
Novosis was developed through 13 years of research to surpass the bone-forming protein-based bone regenerative treatment, ‘Infuse,’ which is monopolized by a global medical device conglomerate, Medtronic. Patients with severe bone defects were able to receive treatment at a reasonable price thanks to the bio integrative medical device with increased effectiveness and maximized safety by applying CGBIO’s advanced protein carrier technology.
The rhBMP-2 used in Novosis has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its technological innovation and original technology. A case in point was a child patient with an unfamiliar disease called osteoporosis, who had a severe deformity in his left leg at age 8. Extensive gelding of the leg bones was required in order to treat this patient, which would have left a permanent, non-walkable disorder.
However, the result of the new surgery using stem cell therapy and Novosis was successful, and the patient was able to return to a healthy lifestyle where he could enjoy active sports on top of walking. The doctor who performed the surgery is using the new treatment option of Novosis to treat patients whose treatment was too difficult with prior technology, such as incurable osteomyelitis and disjointed patients.