Tium Bio receives international generic name approval from WHO for endometriosis new drug ‘Merigolix’

Tium Bio announced on the 21st that it has received approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) for the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) of ‘TU2670’, an endometriosis treatment, as ‘merigolix’.

Merigolix is ​​a compound word of ‘Meri’, which is reminiscent of ‘merry’, meaning a cheerful, lively and energetic state, and ‘golix’, a suffix of the GnRH antagonist (gonadotropin inhibitor) series.

In order to prevent misuse of pharmaceutical prescriptions and increase information delivery and convenience, WHO assigns international generic names to specific pharmaceutical ingredients or substances that can be used and recognized globally.

Tium Bio is currently conducting phase 2a clinical trials of Merigolix (TU2670) in five European countries to develop a new drug for the treatment of endometriosis. It was explained that Merigolix can effectively reduce the estradiol hormone, which worsens endometriosis, at a lower dose compared to existing treatments and has excellent safety. Several global pharmaceutical companies are known to be interested.

The GnRH antagonist class of treatments is expected to be a ‘game changer’ that replaces existing treatments based on its advantages such as efficacy, safety, and convenience in women’s diseases such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids, and diseases such as prostate cancer and precocious puberty. According to market research firm GlobalData, the GnRH antagonist market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 47.4% to approximately 2.5 trillion won (approximately $1.9 billion, based on 7 major countries) by 2030.

Kim Hoon-taek, CEO of Tium Bio, said, “We are happy to have an international generic name for TU2670,” and added, “Based on the topline results of the European phase 2a clinical trial scheduled for the first half of next year, we will additionally export the technology of Merigolix to Europe and other regions.” He added, “We will accelerate our efforts to make it a new drug that can be used by patients around the world.”

[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]