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| Robert Yu, president and CEO of Yuyu Pharma, speaks during a press conference held on the sidelines of the CPHI exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps |
FRANKFURT ― Robert Yu, president and CEO of Yuyu Pharma, said Wednesday that his mission is to make the company comparable to prominent biopharmaceutical companies in the world. To that end, he said the Korean company is actively diversifying its portfolio by developing new drugs such as a dry eye treatment as well as hair loss medication.
"Yuyu Pharma has two pipelines. One is a dry eye treatment and another one is hair loss medication," Yu said during a press conference held on the sidelines of the CPHI exhibition in Frankfurt.
"We are currently conducting the Phase 2 clinical trial for the new dry eye drug in the United States with 240 patients. The test results will come out in the first half of 2023," he said.
Based on pre-clinical studies, the company said a dose-dependent decrease in several dry eye-associated inflammatory mediators was observed in the cornea and conjunctiva. These findings indicate that its drug eye treatment candidate YP-P10 may have anti-inflammatory activities on dry-eye-induced ocular surface inflammation.
"We are also planning to conduct a clinical trial of our hair loss medication. Dutasteride, familiar to Koreans as Avodart, is actually used to treat an enlarged prostate. But, this medication is widely used as a treatment for hair loss in Korea and Japan. The interesting thing is that clinical trials have not been conducted on whether it can be used as a hair loss medication in Europe and the U.S.," he said.
"We will hold a meeting with the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the first half of next year to get approval for launching clinical trials on whether this drug can be used to treat hair loss. If approved, we will start clinical trials in 2024," the CEO added.
Yu is the grandson of the company's founder, Yu Teuk-han, and son of current Chairman Yu Seung-pil. As a third-generation owner, he said it is his task to challenge new drug developments for the future of the next 80 years of the company, which celebrated its 80th anniversary last year.
The company mainly generates its sales from selling pharmaceuticals and health supplements, but its financial situation has worsened due to too much spending on developing new drugs. In 2021, Yuyu Pharma went into the red with an operating loss of 1.6 billion won ($1.12 million).
Nevertheless, Yu said that developing new treatments must go on as that will become a turning point for the company.
"If we stop developing new drugs, we will be easily able to see operating profit right away. When asked whether we are on the right track in the long run, I think Yuyu Pharma can make it. It is not just about taking on new business. I am risking my life for this business," he said.
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