GC Biopharma said on the 6th that it received approval from the Peruvian health authority for the marketing authorization of the Hunter syndrome treatment "Hunterase ICV." Hunter syndrome is a rare disease that causes skeletal abnormalities and cognitive decline. Patients experience a deformity with a protruding forehead and die before age 30.
Hunterase ICV involves inserting a device into the head to deliver the drug directly into the ventricles. Seventy percent of people with Hunter syndrome have accompanying central nervous system damage. Hunterase ICV improved on the limitation that conventional injections may not cross the blood-brain barrier, increasing treatment efficacy.
GC Biopharma succeeded in developing a Hunter syndrome treatment in 2012. Before the success of developing the world's second treatment, the price of the drug approached several million won per injection. The launch of Hunterase is seen as having ended this monopoly. The company said, "We plan to launch the product in Peru next year."