[THE INVESTOR] ViroMed, a Korean biotechnology firm, said on June 28 that it has started the Phase 3 clinical trials of VM202, a proprietary DNA based biopharmaceutical, for patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

According to the company, it is the first pivotal gene therapy trial specifically targeting the most common cause of severe neuropathy, and follows the successful completion of a Phase 2 trial conducted at Northwestern University and multinational sites in the US and Korea.


“The initiation of a pivotal clinical trial for VM202 is incredibly exciting, because we observed in the Phase 2 trial a rapid and significant reduction in DPN pain, along with signals that VM202 may elicit a disease-modifying effect,” said Jack Kessler, professor of neurology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and the principal investigator of the Phase 3 study.

“Current treatments for DPN are aimed at providing symptom management, and along with a high rate of patient failure, do not modify the underlying pathology of the condition.”

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)