South Korea's SK Biopharmaceuticals announced Phase III clinical trials of a medication for sleep disorders that will be led abroad by partner U.S.-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals, the Korea Herald said.
The multi-center trials are planned in South Korea, and in the U.S. and Europe for patients suffering from narcolepsy and sleep apnea, according to the Korea Herald. Neither company carried a release on their websites.
In January 2013, Jazz and Aerial BioPharma acquired certain rights to ADX-N05 for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy. SK Biopharmaceuticals retains rights in certain countries.
The new drug for Phase III trials locally, called SKL-N05, is slated to reach the market in 2018, the Korea Herald said.
SK Holdings, the parent of SK Biopharmaceuticals, is a South Korean conglomerate with interests in pharma, telecom and other sectors. It has also joined fell conglomerate firms like Samsung in pushing aggressively into biotech.
The newspaper said Jazz Pharmaceuticals hopes to get U.S. FDA approval by 2017.
- here's the story from the Korea Herald