Korea bio corporations UXN joined hands with a Saudi Arabia national university to push clinical trials of an enzyme-free continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) and move to enter the Middle East market.
UXN said it recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with King Faisal University (KFU), a prestigious national university in Saudi Arabia, for joint research and clinical trials of an enzyme-free continuous glucose monitoring system.
Through this agreement, the two sides plan to pursue cooperation on medical device commercialization, including local clinical trials in Saudi Arabia, and a mid- to long-term research partnership.
The product UXN is developing is an enzyme-free continuous glucose monitor that uses platinum nanoporosity material. Unlike existing enzyme-based CGMs, it is less prone to performance degradation due to temperature changes and can be stored and transported at room temperature. The company said, "We applied a technology that regenerates the sensor surface to improve long-term use stability."
This collaboration is part of the company's "Two Track" clinical strategy. While conducting a confirmatory clinical trial in Korea, the company plans to secure clinical data tailored to local characteristics in Saudi Arabia to lay the groundwork for entry into the global market.
The Saudi clinical trial will proceed in stages in line with the local health authority's approval process.
Considering that the U.S. market is a competitive environment already dominated by large global corporations, the company chose an indirect entry strategy that uses the Middle East as a strategic base.
Saudi Arabia, which has a high prevalence of diabetes and is expanding investment in Digital Healthcare and preventive medicine around "Vision 2030," was assessed as a region where demand for continuous glucose monitoring systems is rapidly increasing.
Park Se-jin, CEO of UXN, said, "While verifying safety and effectiveness through domestic clinical trials, we plan to conduct parallel clinical trials in the Middle East to secure data across diverse ethnicities and environments," and added, "We will use this as a reference for entering major markets such as the United States, Europe, India, and China."
CEO Park earned bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in chemistry at Seoul National University and has continued research in electrochemical sensors and nano-material applications. Park has released multiple papers on enzyme-free glucose sensors in international journals. Based on these research results, the company is reviewing ways to expand the application range to personal continuous glucose monitors and long-term implantable products.