The Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF) announced on the 16th the selection of nine outstanding projects out of a total of 496 at the 2025 National Drug Development Outstanding Project Presentation, held at the Fairmont Ambassador Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul.

The projects recognized by KDDF include: SoVarGen, which identified a drug candidate for treating pediatric refractory epilepsy caused by mTOR mutations; Abion, for developing an antibody therapeutic targeting claudin-3 overexpressed solid tumors; and Aimedbio, for preclinical development of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting Src kinase-related transmembrane proteins in solid tumors. GI Innovation was selected for its immunocyte-targeting cytokine GI-102, pursuing either technology out-licensing or conditional approval for metastatic melanoma using both subcutaneous and intravenous formulations. Pin Therapeutics was also recognized for developing a therapeutic candidate for p53 wild-type solid tumors using a CK1α-selective protein degrader compound.

Additional awardees include D&D Pharmatech, which is conducting a global Phase 2 clinical trial of its metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) drug candidate, DD01; Rznomics, for its Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of RZ-001 in patients with glioblastoma; and Inventera, for its Phase 2b study aimed at advancing a novel iron-based high-performance T1 MRI contrast agent into Phase 3 clinical trials. Prazer Therapeutics was also selected for its development of a Parkinson’s disease drug candidate based on its proprietary SPiDEM platform, utilizing a strategy for selective degradation of pathological α-synuclein protein.

KDDF stated that, as in previous years, projects were evaluated across three key categories: High Performance, Technology Breakthrough, and New Insight, under which this year’s outstanding projects were selected.

Read the full article: https://www.biospectator.com/news/view/27289