Korean Biotech Companies Target the Future Growth Market of Anti-Aging: Where Does the Technology Stand?

Nature Cell’s Osteoarthritis Cell and Gene Therapy ‘JointStem’ Designated as an FDA Breakthrough Therapy
AriBio and Cureverse Focus on Alzheimer’s Disease Treatments
Innogene Offers Korea’s Only Comprehensive Hair-Loss Solution
HaplnScience, Medispan, UBL Bio and Others Gain Attention for Anti-Aging Therapeutics
Industry: “Sustainable Growth Will Require Both Cost Reduction and Regulatory Reform”

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[BioTimes] As society enters an era of super-aging, the healthcare paradigm is rapidly shifting toward proactive health management, and anti-aging is emerging as a promising future growth market following obesity treatment.

The anti-aging industry can broadly be divided into three categories: consumer products such as cosmetics and food, medical applications including procedures and pharmaceuticals, and services such as aesthetic care. In particular, anti-aging medicine seeks to extend healthy lifespan by improving quality of life, and investment is increasing rapidly in major developed countries where population aging is accelerating.

As people age, muscle mass declines and neurodegeneration can make movement increasingly difficult. In response to aging populations, major countries around the world are identifying drugs with diverse mechanisms, including therapies aimed at promoting cellular regeneration, slowing biological aging, and preventing muscle loss.

At the same time, anti-aging technology development is expanding beyond symptom management to target fundamental treatment and prevention of age-related conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, disorders of bone metabolism including dental conditions, hair loss, and vision deterioration.

Driven by technological innovation and the global aging trend, the anti-aging industry is expected to continue growing steadily. The global anti-aging therapeutics market is projected to expand from approximately USD 590 million in 2022 to USD 2.47 billion by 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate of about 17.5%.
 

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Korea Enters a Super-Aged Society as Pharma and Biotech Companies Accelerate Anti-Aging Drug Development

As Korea’s population continues to age rapidly, people aged 65 and older now account for 20.6% of the population, or approximately 10.59 million people, marking the country’s entry into a super-aged society. The proportion is projected to exceed 30% by 2036 and 40% by 2050.

As the elderly population grows and anti-aging emerges as a long-term growth industry, Korean pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are intensifying efforts to secure future growth opportunities.

Nature Cell’s JointStem, a cell and gene therapy for degenerative osteoarthritis, was recently designated a Breakthrough Therapy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). JointStem is an autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy. Administered locally into the knee joint, it is designed to promote cartilage regeneration, reduce pain, and improve joint function, with effects reported to last for at least three years.

Companies are also accelerating the development of treatments for dementia. A regenerative medicine technology using cultured autologous adipose-derived stem cells administered through both intrathecal and intravenous routes is being developed for Alzheimer’s disease, and commercialization of the technology began in Japan in October last year. The stem cells are intended to reduce neuroinflammation and neuronal damage while promoting cerebrovascular regeneration, improving blood flow, and supporting neuronal survival.

AriBio is developing its Alzheimer’s disease treatment portfolio across a broader range of indications and patient populations, from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to early and more advanced stages of dementia. It is currently the only Korean company conducting a global Phase 3 clinical trial for an Alzheimer’s disease treatment.

Its lead candidate, AR1001, completed a U.S. FDA Phase 2 trial and entered global Phase 3 development following the first patient dosing in the United States in December 2022. The company’s pipeline also includes AR1002 for tau-related Alzheimer’s disease and Rett syndrome, AR1003 as a combination therapy for mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease, AR1004 as a botanical treatment for mild cognitive impairment, and AR1005 for dementia with Lewy bodies.

Cureverse has successfully developed and licensed out its oral dementia treatment candidate CV-01. The drug is designed to suppress neuroinflammatory responses and prevent damage to neural circuits. In October last year, the company signed a technology transfer agreement with Angelini Pharma valued at up to USD 370 million, including milestone payments.

Innogene offers what it describes as Korea’s only comprehensive hair-loss solution spanning early prevention and diagnosis through personalized treatment and management. The company also has a product portfolio of nine offerings, including post-hair-transplant shampoos and solutions, alopecia areata solutions, hair tonics, and scalp care products.

Its specialized hair-loss brand BALLVIC provides scalp-care solutions based on cause-specific symptom management and intensive early-stage treatment. The company states that BALLVIC is the only cosmeceutical product line to have demonstrated hair-loss treatment efficacy at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery.

Innogene also provides scalp and hair management and diagnostic devices and software to clinics, while building proprietary capabilities in anti-aging R&D. Through its corporate research institute, the company is expanding beyond hair follicle cell formation, proliferation, and hair growth into broader anti-aging solutions encompassing both basic research and therapeutic applications using stem cell culture technologies.

Other Korean biotech companies are also advancing anti-aging pipelines. HaplnScience is developing therapeutics for age-related degenerative diseases, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as its lead pipeline. It also has programs targeting osteoarthritis, dry eye disease, skin aging, and hair loss.

Medispan is focused on discovering novel candidates that can maximize age-related immune activity and developing first-in-class drugs aimed at slowing aging and treating age-associated diseases. UBL Bio is developing therapeutics for refractory diseases by combining senescent-cell control technologies with artificial intelligence (AI).

An industry official said, “Demand for obesity drugs has grown rapidly as obesity is increasingly recognized as a major driver of chronic disease, and with Korea now entering a super-aged society, development of anti-aging technologies and therapeutics is also accelerating.”

The official added, “As demand grows not only for beauty but for living younger and healthier lives, major global pharmaceutical markets are likely to become increasingly centered on anti-aging. The integration of personalized solutions and digital technologies will become an important point of differentiation.”

The official further emphasized that while continued growth of the anti-aging industry is expected as technology advances and market demand increases, cost reduction and regulatory reform will need to progress in parallel.

[BioTimes, Reporter Kim Ga-ram]
Email: news@biotimes.co.kr

Source: BioTimes(http://www.biotimes.co.kr)