Caregen Pursues Domestic Obesity Drug Approval After Overseas Coglutide Success
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Caregen is developing an obesity treatment intended for teh domestic market, a move prompted by regulatory hurdles preventing approval of its coglutide product as a health functional food in South korea. Company officials believe success in developing a dedicated obesity drug will pave the way for domestic licensing.
“The obesity treatment that is currently being developed is actually much better than the coglu tide,” stated Chung, a company representative.
caregen has already secured export contracts for coglutide with companies in Canada, Mexico, and Thailand, totaling 30.5 billion won this month. The company attributes the difficulty in obtaining domestic approval to the fact that regulators currently do not recognize peptides as acceptable raw materials for health functional foods.
“If you succeed in developing obesity drugs within the company, we expect domestic permission to have no problem,” Chung added.
Clinical trials conducted in India on 100 obese patients demonstrated promising results for coglutide. Participants taking 100mg of coglutide daily for 12 weeks experienced an average weight loss of 10.78%, alongside significant improvements in body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio, and visceral fat levels. Importantly, the company reported minimal muscle loss among trial participants.
Caregen is currently conducting a second clinical trial involving 200 adults, specifically targeting individuals with “dry obesity” – characterized by high body fat percentage despite a normal weight.This expanded trial aims to position the product as a daily weight management solution applicable to a broader population beyond those clinically defined as obese.
“We are conducting 200 additional clinical trials after 100 people, but there have been no side effects yet,” chung confirmed.
The company expressed confidence in the future development of its obesity treatment, citing the positive outcomes observed with coglutide. “We are also convinced of successful development of obesity treatment based on cogluide achievements,” Chung said.
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