ViroMed Co., Ltd. (VM BioPharma in the US) is a biotechnology company located in Seoul, Korea with a US presence in Atlanta and the San Francisco Bay Area. The company works on DNA and protein-based therapeutics for various life-threatening diseases, herbal-based medicines, and nutraceuticals. ViroMed now has five main products in its pipeline targeting cardiovascular disease, cancer, and immune-related disorder, with clinical trials in the US, Korea, and China. The company has established partnerships with global firms including Johnson & Johnson (Biologics Delivery Systems Group of Cordis Corp., USA), SBI Biotech (Japan), and Green Cross (Korea). The company also conducts preclinical developmental studies in the aspects of toxicology, efficacy and pharmacokinetics. Phase I and II clinical studies are also carried out.
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History
ViroMed was founded in November 1996, as ViroMedica Pacific, Inc. The company changed its name to ViroMed in 1999.
VM202
VM202 is a DNA-based medicine meant to treat ischemic cardiovascular diseases via therapeutic angiogenesis. It is designed to express isoforms of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) for the formation of new blood vessels.
VM206
VM206 is a therapeutic cancer vaccine targeting HER2/neu positive breast or ovarian cancer. Her2/neu is over-expressed in about 30% of breast cancers and is strongly associated with poor prognosis. VM206 can elicit an immune response to HER2/neu, which is hoped to reduce the growth and recurrence rate of breast or ovarian cancer.
VM501
VM501 is a re-engineered form of interleukin 11 (IL-11) targeting chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia (CIT) that is said to be less toxic than the existing FDA-approved drugs.
Clinical trials
According to its website, the company is involved in the following clinical trials:
- VM202-PAD - Phase 2 clinical trial, China (ongoing): Angiogeneic therapeutics for critical limb ischemia.
- VM202-PAD - Phase 2 clinical trial, USA/Korea (ongoing): Angiogeneic therapeutics for critical limb ischemia.
- VM202-DPN - Phase 2 clinical trial, USA/Korea (ongoing): Disease modifying drug as neovasculazation & neurogenesis therapeutics for diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
- VM206 - Phase 1 clinical trial, Korea (ongoing)