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News [K-Biotech to conquer dementia] ③ Vasthera CEO Sang Won Kang | |
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VasThera(IR@vasthera.com)Date : 2024-07-12View : 549 | |
127, 14 years, $360 billion According to the American Alzheimer's Association (AA), as of January 1, there are 127 global Alzheimer's disease treatment pipelines. The average period from development to final approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amounts to 14 years. In the U.S., the cost of managing Alzheimer's disease and other diseases is 360 billion dollars. The cost of informal care, such as family care, is excluded. The number of elderly people living alone is also approaching 2 million. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the total cost of private care is estimated at W10 trillion, but some experts predict that it will exceed W15 trillion. The problem is the pace of aging. By 2030, one in four Koreans is 65 or older, and it is estimated that there will be more than 1.5 million people aged 85 or older, whose prevalence of dementia is close to 40 percent. heads who have waded through this terrifying forest of numbers to conquer global dementia. drawing attention from the medical community as a monoclonal antibody drug targeting amyloid beta (Aβ), a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. as of this year, there are a total of 127 drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease, of which 18% (23) are targeted for Aβ. the challenge of overcoming Alzheimer's disease by developing a treatment based on Redox Signaling technology. postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Health (NIH), where he was exposed to redox signaling technology. Back then, the NIH was just beginning to research in this field for the first time in the world. Kang has been a scholar for 30 years since then.
in January 2018 and transferred related patent technology from the school. VasThera is a company that develops oral low-molecular treatments targeting peroxiredoxin defense syndrome (PDS), and is expanding its pipeline to neurodegenerative diseases such as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. We asked CEO Kang about the development process of redox signaling technology and the possibility of developing new drugs for dementia.
Q. You are a first-generation pioneer in redox signaling. Please explain this technology. the general public knows most of them about oxidative stress. the United States, where I was. mechanism. It has been 10 years since the researchers started their research. Peroxidoxin regulates the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in the cytoplasm and cytoplasm. The research was published in Nature, an international journal. on cardiovascular clinical studies. actively operated. interest in technology transfer. Then, in 2017, the Ministry of Science and ICT applied for a contest for a start-up project and was finally selected. The evaluators found out new materials and mechanisms. I started with the idea that if the enzyme dies and a disease occurs, we can find a way to reactivate the enzyme and turn it into a treatment.
we expect global biotech interest in this field to increase.
Q. Please describeVasThera's main pipeline. the first platform technology, can design peroxidoxin-mimicking synthetic low-molecular nanoenzymes. focusing on developing treatment for arterial vascular disease and dementia. The drug we developed is such a small molecular compound that it passes through the cerebrovascular barrier (BBB) and enters the blood vessel wall well. In the area of cancer, it's in the basic research stage. The activation of astrocytes is also what causes dementia. We're studying the mechanism that prevents the activation of astrocytes with peroxyredoxin enzymes. Additionally, peroxyredoxin protects nerve cells. On the other hand, the substance we study has a dual function that prevents astrocytes from being activated while preventing nerve cells from dying. So it works both ways.
is also required to succeed in clinical trials.
Q. What do you think is the direction of dementia treatment research? and astrocytes are combined. Redox signal regulation technology is the multiplex mechanism. I think that if we approach it with this technology, we may have a higher chance of successful dementia treatment. Peroxiredoxin works in both blood vessels and nerve cells. So it can be controlled all at once. We have platform technology and a mouse model, so we can proceed with the research quickly. Two years ago, we also joined a project leader with extensive research experience in dementia. and I think I can finish it in a short period of time because I've completed a preliminary experiment.
Q. How likely is there to be a cure for dementia? early and clearly have the effect of slowing down the progression will be developed soon. that antibody treatments like Rechemby have come out and opened a new way in the field of dementia treatment. 20 to 30 years in the past, now be resolved in 2-3 years. Now, it's not that difficult to pitch in person and actively meet and communicate with industry officials and investors.
However, for the first time in the world, a substance patent was received through domestic research, and a new mechanism was discovered and new drug candidates were discovered. If the clinical trial is successful, it will be the first case in the domestic bio industry to start from pure research and open the door to commercialization. I believe that one day, the moment of overcoming dementia will surely come.
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