[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s biotech firm CrystalGenomics said on March 13 it has signed a distribution contract with Daewoong Pharmaceutical to sell its degenerative arthritis treatment Acelex to small local hospitals.

Acelex is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that directly targets cyclooxygenase-2, an enzyme responsible for inflammation and pain. The new drug was approved by Korea‘s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2015. 

Under the deal, Daewoong Pharmaceutical will be in charge of the sales of Acelex at hospitals with fewer than 300 beds. For bigger health care providers, CrystalGenomics has partnered with another drug maker Dong-A ST in a separate deal.

“We will put utmost efforts for swift market expansion of Acelex through the mutual cooperation with Daewoong Pharmaceutical and DongA-ST,” CrystalGenomics CEO Cho Joong-myung said in a statement.

According to the Korean biotech firm, Acelex demonstrated superior efficacy in patients with degenerative arthritis in phase 3 clilincal trials, compared with Pfizer’s Celebrex, the best-selling arthritis drug which generated some 3 trillion won (US$2.80 billion) in global sales in 2016.

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