JW CreaGene said Tuesday it has secured a government funding to implement clinical trials on its new drug CreaVax-BC to treat glioblastoma, the most aggressive brain cancer.

The state-run Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) will provide the company with about 3 billion won for three years to test the new drug, the company said.

“We believe the KHIDI’s decision to provide research funding proves the market competitiveness and innovation of CreaVax-BC as an immune cell therapy drug,” said JW CreaGene CEO Lee Kyung-joon.

To prove the drug’s efficacy and safety, the company will perform phase 1/2 clinical trials on around 60 patients who have undergone glioblastoma surgery in six large hospitals.

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive primary malignant brain tumor usually treated through surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. There has been an urgent need to develop glioblastoma treatment as the disease claims a 50 percent mortality rate within an average of 15 months, the company said.

CreaVax-BC is a dendritic cell therapy designed to treat glioblastoma by causing immune responses in T-cells, and natural killer cells. Dendritic cell therapeutics use an individual’s immune cells and can be administered concurrently with other drugs with little side effects.

The treatment may fundamentally prevent cancer recurrence by attacking brain tumor cells such as cancer stem cells, the company said.

“We will become a leader in the immune cell therapeutic market through successful clinical trials,” Lee said.

yjc@docdocdoc.co.kr

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