We started with one employee in the early days, but we are now at the stage of preparing for a listing. If things go as planned, we will attempt to list five years after founding.
Chief Executive Cho Seong-jin of Cureverse met with ChosunBiz at the KIST Startup Growth Center in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, on the 1st and said, "We are aiming to list on KOSDAQ in 2027." Cureverse is a biotech venture that originated from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).
Founded in 2021, Cureverse is a new drug developer based on small-molecule compounds. Without using commercial libraries on the market, it built its own compound library that reflects commercialization requirements from the initial design stage, including blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, ease of formulation and manufacturing, and dosing convenience. It also independently designs the structures of candidate molecules.
In Oct. last year, Cureverse licensed out its oral brain disease drug candidate "CV-01" to the Italian central nervous system specialist pharmaceutical company Angelini Pharma in a deal worth $370 million (about 506 billion won). The amount includes stepwise milestones payable upon successful phase 3 and commercialization. It is rare for a startup from a government-funded research institute to sign a deal of this size with early clinical-stage technology just three years after founding.
Based on this achievement, Cho received the Order of Civil Merit, Magnolia Medal, at the Health and Medical Technology Promotion Merit Awards on the 27th of last month. Cho said, "It is an award to an individual, but it is the result of the company's performance," adding, "Within the next five years, we plan to sign two additional technology transfer contracts to build a sustainable pipeline."
CV-01 is currently in a domestic phase 1 trial led by Seoul National University Hospital that includes Caucasian subjects, and it is expected to be completed in the first half of next year. Its indications are Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and chronic neuroinflammatory disorders. Angelini Pharma is pushing development by adding an epilepsy indication. Angelini Pharma holds the European rights to SK Biopharmaceuticals' epilepsy treatment "Xcopri (Cenobamate)."
Cho said, "We are taking part in preparations for a bridging trial to enter the United States and Europe," adding, "Through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis by U.S. contract research organization (CRO) Charles River, the mechanism of action of CV-01 was actually confirmed."
Follow-on pipelines are also under development. The multiple sclerosis drug candidate "CV-02" received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for an investigational new drug (IND) application for a phase 1 trial in June. The anticancer candidate "CV-03" is planned to enter the preclinical stage next year. In addition, three more pipelines are being prepared, and development priorities will be adjusted according to the business development strategy.
Cho said, "Before the technology transfer of CV-01, we contacted 200 to 300 companies and held substantive meetings with about 20 of them," adding, "We took an approach of reflecting the data requested by partners in the development process."
Leveraging the technology transfer contract with Angelini Pharma, Cureverse surpassed 10 billion won in cumulative sales this year. The company is securing stepwise milestones by development and commercialization stages and sales royalties based on global rights, while retaining commercialization rights in Korea and China.
Cureverse has selected Mirae Asset Securities as its lead manager for the listing and has begun preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). Cho said, "Sales are also expected next year, and we are considering pre-IPO fundraising in the second half."