DXVX

• Joint research achievement by Gemelli Hospital in Rome, COREE, COREE Pohang, and the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- COREE announced on September 15 that it had, for the first time in the world, identified microbiome biomarkers specific to diabetes and obesity patients, in collaboration with Italian research teams. The company is led by Chairman Chong-Yoon Lim, who is also the largest shareholder of Dx&Vx.

The announcement was made at the 38th Annual Workshop of the European Helicobacter & Microbiota Study Group (EHMSG), held in Rome, Italy, from September 11 to 13. EHMSG, a prestigious academic platform with over 30 years of history, is an international venue where the latest findings in Helicobacter pylori and microbiome research are presented each year. This year's workshop brought together more than 500 researchers and clinicians from around the world.

COREE participated as an official sponsor of the event, with Chairman Chong-Yoon Lim, CEO Sung-Jun Han, Professor Dae-Hee Kang of Seoul National University, Professor In-Taek Lim of the Catholic University of Korea, and about 30 other Korean scientists in attendance as part of the Future Medical Innovation Forum.

At the workshop, Professor Lorenza Putignani of Sapienza University of Rome and Gemelli Hospital presented the results of a clinical study jointly conducted by Gemelli Hospital, COREE, COREE Pohang, and the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. The study analyzed clinical samples from 93 patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes and 45 healthy controls, successfully identifying for the first time worldwide microbiome distribution patterns unique to these patients.

The research involved metagenomic analysis of stool and saliva samples. Findings showed that the gut microbiome diversity of obese patients was significantly reduced compared to healthy controls. Specific bacterial groups such as Clostridium sp. Q and "CAG-74" were highlighted as potential biomarkers capable of distinguishing patient groups. In type 2 diabetes patients, differences in oral microbiome distribution were observed, with Parvimonas and Aggregatibacter identified as potential biomarkers.

COREE explained that the study is not just a scientific discovery but also a critical foundation for future diagnostic platforms, new drug development, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT).

Sung-Jun Han, CEO of COREE, stated, "This is the first time globally that statistically significant microbiome characteristics specific to diabetes and obesity patients have been identified. With further research, these biomarkers could be developed for early diagnosis and prediction of treatment response."

The company emphasized that this achievement provides a clear roadmap for its future growth areas in diagnostics, therapeutics, and FMT solutions.

The academic exchange extended beyond diabetes and obesity research, highlighting broader public health challenges shared by both Italy and Korea. Both countries face extremely low birth rates and rapidly aging populations, making child and senior health critical national priorities.

Dr. In-Taek Lim, former Assistant Minister for Health of the Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare, and now Research Professor at the Catholic University of korea, Graduate School of Public Health and Healthcare Management, commented:

"Both Korea and Italy are confronted with structural challenges of low fertility and rapid aging. This joint research marks an important starting point for future academic and industrial collaborations aimed at tackling common health issues across generations, particularly children and the elderly."

Building on this study, COREE and Gemelli Hospital underscored the importance of expanded research into pediatric and adolescent microbiome health as well as preventive strategies for age-related diseases. Future directions will include initiatives to strengthen maternal and child health as part of efforts to overcome declining birth rates, along with the development of tailored preventive medicine strategies for the elderly.

Professor Dae-Hee Kang of Seoul National University's Department of Preventive Medicine added:

"This achievement serves as a source of great inspiration not only to Korean scientists but also to the global research community. It demonstrates the potential of Helicobacter and microbiome research to evolve into a new therapeutic paradigm."

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/coree-announces-discovery-of-microbiome-biomarkers-specific-to-diabetes-and-obesity-patients-302568106.html

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• This innovative platform technology, with exceptional scalability, has been recognized as highly valuable even with limited rights granted.
• DXVX is taking the lead in business development, with several companies in the due diligence stage, and additional deals are anticipated.

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Avixgen, a subsidiary of Dx&Vx, announced on the 18th that it has signed a licensing-out agreement worth approximately USD 360 million with a U.S. biotechnology company for its next-generation drug delivery platform, ACP (Advanced Cell Penetrating Peptide). Avixgen is a drug development company in which Dx&Vx holds a 66.2% stake.

Through the licensing-out agreement, Avixgen grants the partner company, a U.S. biotechnology company, a limited exclusive license of ACP patents, and the partner applies and develops them only for its own drug development candidates. The partner will pay Avixgen a total of USD 360 million in upfront and development milestone payments. Royalties for 10 years after commercialization are separate. Other specific details of the agreement will remain undisclosed at the request of the partner.

The ACP platform, independently developed by Avixgen, is a peptide-based drug delivery technology designed with a unique structure. This platform enables efficient and stable delivery of drugs into tissues and cells either by conjugation or simple mixing with various drugs. With broad applicability across small molecules, peptides, nucleic acids such as RNA, and even antibodies, it is evaluated as a next-generation technology with high scalability.

In particular, preclinical animal studies successfully penetrated the blood–brain barrier (BBB), known as one of the greatest obstacles in drug delivery, using ACP-conjugated drugs, and secured results that improved motor function in damaged animals. This is evaluated as presenting a practical solution to the development of CNS (central nervous system) targeted therapeutics, which has been difficult to achieve with existing drug delivery technologies.

Dx&Vx and Avixgen are companies with leading expertise and technological capabilities in the South Korean biotech industry in developing peptide-based drug delivery technologies, and have accumulated therapeutic and delivery technologies based on multiple peptide platforms.

This agreement transfers only a very limited portion of ACP's outstanding scalability. BBB patents are also excluded from the contract. Nevertheless, negotiating USD 360 million in upfront and milestone payments is considered a very encouraging result.

Sung Jun Han, CEO of Avixgen, said, "This global licensing-out agreement is the first for our company and represents the fruition of years of continuous research and development efforts. We thank our partner for recognizing the value of our technology, and we expect to accelerate global market entry and further collaboration expansion by using this contract as a stepping stone."

Kevin Kwon, CEO of Dx&Vx, said, "We were able to achieve a great result by leveraging our business development capabilities to present our subsidiary's technology. We consider this practically our second global licensing-out success. This agreement is expected to have a very positive impact not only on licensing discussions for Avixgen's ACP platform-based BBB penetration technology but also on other pipeline licensing discussions of Dx&Vx."

This agreement was concluded as a result of Dx&Vx, the largest shareholder of Avixgen, being delegated business development authority and leading the negotiations. Given the nature of platform technology, multiple contracts with different companies are possible. Therefore, in the case of additional licensing-out deals, Dx&Vx will also secure meaningful revenues depending on the business development process. In addition, based on this achievement, additional outcomes are expected, such as bringing forward the timing of agreements in other ongoing negotiations.

Meanwhile, DXVX's largest shareholder is Chong-Yoon Lim, Chairman of COREE and eldest son of the founder of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/avixgen-a-subsidiary-of-dxvx-signs-a-licensing-out-agreement-worth-usd-360-million-with-a-us-biotech-company-for-its-next-generation-drug-delivery-platform-acp-302531981.html

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