HYUNDAI BIOSCIENCE CO., LTD. and DNDi (Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative), an international non-profit organization that researches, develops, and supplies treatments for neglected diseases, jointly announced on the 4th that they signed a business agreement (MOU) to ‘develop Xafty, a niclosamide-based broad-spectrum antiviral candidate, as a treatment for dengue.’ Through this collaboration, Hyundai Bioscience and DNDi aim to develop Xafty into an economical, accessible, and safe antiviral treatment.
The signing ceremony took place at Hyundai Bio’s Seoul office, and was officially signed by Hyundai Bio’s CEO Sang-ki Oh, DNDi’s Business Development and Partnership Management Director Daisuke Imoto, and DNDi’s Viral Disease Cluster Director Dr. Isabela Ribeiro.
The two parties plan to pursue joint projects to promote research, development, and global distribution of dengue treatment based on Zefty. To this end, they will form a joint project team to handle clinical trials, manufacturing, and regulatory strategies, and will work together to expand treatment accessibility and affordability in low- and middle-income countries.
Hyundai Bio and DNDi plan to collaborate on conducting clinical studies together, managing the regulatory approval process for new drugs, and securing global research funding and resources. Hyundai Bio will grant DNDi a non-exclusive license to support the global use of Zefty.
Previous studies have shown that Zefty possesses broad-spectrum antiviral activity. As there are currently no FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) or EMA (European Medicines Agency) approved treatments for dengue, developing Zefty as an economical and effective treatment option is a critical task, making this collaboration all the more meaningful.
In December 2024, Hyundai Bio received approval for the clinical trial of Zefty’s dengue fever treatment from the Agency for Science, Technology and Training (ASTT) under the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Vietnam, and in January 2025, it received approval for the clinical trial protocol from the Central Ethics Committee (EC) of Vietnam.
DNDi is a non-profit research and development (R&D) organization established in 2003, focusing on the development of treatments for neglected diseases. DNDi collaborates with over 200 global health and research organizations, including multinational pharmaceutical companies, the World Health Organization (WHO), ministries of health, and tropical disease research organizations (e.g. Fiocruz, Indian Council of Medical Research). Through these collaborations, DNDi has secured research funding and conducted clinical trials for the development of new drugs, and has developed and supplied 13 innovative treatments for sleeping sickness, pediatric HIV, and Chagas disease.
DNDi is also a founding member of the Dengue Alliance, a global partnership to develop treatments for dengue, working with research institutions in countries where dengue is endemic to develop needed treatments. The Dengue Alliance accelerates treatment development by conducting preemptive research, testing the efficacy of drug candidates, conducting clinical trials of promising treatments, as well as securing research resources, sharing knowledge, and supporting the regulatory approval process.
This collaboration between Hyundai Bio and DNDi is expected to play a significant role in accelerating the development of Zefty, making new treatment options more readily available in low- and middle-income countries.
“This collaboration will be a significant turning point in the development of a dengue treatment based on Zefty and in the promotion of global health,” said Sang-ki Oh, CEO of Hyundai Bio. “Developing and distributing a dengue treatment in collaboration with DNDi is a fulfillment of our corporate social responsibility and is also in line with our ESG management strategy. We plan to quickly secure global research funding and expand our clinical network to provide safe and effective dengue treatment at a reasonable price to low- and middle-income countries.”
“2024 marked the highest number of dengue cases ever reported, yet there is still no cure for this devastating disease,” said Dr. Isabela Ribeiro, Director of the DNDi Viral Disease Cluster. “DNDi, together with our partners in the Dengue Alliance, aims to accelerate the development of treatments for dengue, a neglected disease that is increasingly impacted by climate change. We hope that innovations in vaccines and vector control technologies will lead to similar advances in therapeutic development, and we hope this collaboration with Hyundai Bio will be a catalyst for such innovation.”
- See more related articles
You must be logged in to post a comment.