April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s nuclear med maker FutureChem said on Feb. 5 that it has received marketing approval from Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for its diagnostic radiopharmaceutical drug for Alzheimer’s disease.

The medicine -- Alzavue -- is designed to be injected into the bloodstream, where it crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds to amyloid plaque to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. 

“We expect swift market penetration with price competitiveness, as other existing diagnostic imaging agents for Alzheimer’s disease (launched by local drugmakers) have to pay royalties to an original developer,” an official at FutureChem said.

The approval after the company completed phase 3 clinical trials in 2016 to wrap up eight years of development.

FutureChem is pinning its hopes on radiopharmaceutical therapies including PDvue, an injectable for the diagnosis of early detection of Parkinson’s disease, to tap into overseas markets.

“This year will become the first year that FutureChem will make a foray into the global markets with Alzavue and PDvue,” CEO Chi Dae-yoon said.

As a part of its market expansion plan, FutureChem acquired Kai Healthcare for 5 billion won (US$4.6 million) in September last year to bolster manufacturing capability.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)