바이오스펙테이터

by Jongwon Jang

“This year we will set a milestone in producing tangible achievements in new drug development through open innovation. By securing 100 % rights to excellent new drug substances, we will develop them into new drugs with our own capacity, through our domestic and overseas network.”

During an interview with the Biospectator, Yuyu Pharma representative Yu Wonsang recently made the above statement in regard to the company’s new drug development strategy through open innovation. New drug development can strengthen the company’s own capacity, and when a new drug is released into the market as a commercial product, it can also contribute to increasing the company’s sales volume, creating a virtuous cycle for sales growth.

After having worked for Merrill Lynch Securities and the global pharmaceutical giant Novartis, Mr. Yu jointed Yuyu Pharma in 2009, and he has become the CEO of the pharmaceutical company on the 1st day of the last month. Through the independent representation system by Chairman Yu Seungpil and Vice President Yu Wonsang, the management by a third-generation owner family member has just started. He is now faced with the daunting task of restructuring Yuyu Pharma, which has a history of 78 years, to find a new growth engine.

CEO Yu is propagating Yuyu Pharma’s open innovation strategy by personally visiting overseas academic societies. He recently attended a conference held by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in Vancouver, Canada, and introduced the participating scientists to the company’s new drug candidate substance “YDE”, which is a peptide new drug candidate being developed as a treatment for dry eye disease.

CEO Yu said, “We are paying attention to the fields of urology, ophthalmology, and neurology as our targets of open innovation, but we are not considering the anti-cancer market, where there are too many competitors. We will focus on possessing ownership rights to the substance to transform coal into a jewel.”

Yuyu Pharma currently possesses two new drug pipelines; one is for benign prostatic hyperplasia (YY-201), while the other is for dry eye syndrome (YY-101).

The YY-201 is a composite drug made of both Dutasteride, a treatment drug for prostate enlargement, and Tadalafil, a treatment drug for erectile-dysfunction, and is designed to treat them both at the same time. Yuyu Pharma made use of its own formulation technology to develop a soft capsule type of Dutasteride, of which the size is reduced to a third of the original, and to which Tadalafil is added to develop the composite drug. Last year, the company achieved approval for phase 3 domestic clinical trial, and is currently devising a global development strategy.

Yuyu Pharma applied he nano-solubilization technology to the refractory substance from the bio venture company “IMDpharm”, to develop a tablet type of YY-201. CEO Yu said, “We will reinforce our foothold in the market by adding a newly-developed tablet type to the existing current soft capsule type. We plan to carry out a global phase-3 clinical trial of YY-201 through partnership.”

Another Yuyu Pharma pipeline drug is YY-101, a peptide treatment for dry eye symptom, which has recently received approval for phase 2 clinical trial from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of the Republic of Korea. The YY-101 is a collagen peptide new drug candidate isolated from chondrocyte-derived extracellular matrix. Yuyu Pharma is currently examining the possibility of phase 2 clinical trial of YY-101, while seeking partnership.

Recently, Yuyu Pharma also unveiled the new peptide candidate “YDE” for dry eye symptom. The company explains that YDE not only has a treatment effect on corneal epithelial cells, but also improves tear secretion through its anti-inflammation mechanism. When the treatment effect of the YDE was compared with that of the ingredients of the existing treatment drugs, including Cyclosporine A, Diquafosol, Hyaluronic Acid, and Lifitegrast in a dry eye symptom-induced mouse model, it was confirmed that it could possibly be used as the next generation treatment for dry eye syndrome.

CEO Yu stressed that the company’s growth and new drug development is dependent on securing talented employees. He explained that talented employees are highly likely to contribute to increasing the company’s sales and developing new drugs. He emphasized, “If we can attract great talent and develop good products, the company can grow further, and can also increase its sales. My ultimate goal is to make Yuyu Pharma a company that college students want to work for.”