HLB Life Science secures 5th state grant to develop medical hemp therapies

HLB Life Science R&D office in Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of HLB Life Science

HLB Life Science R&D, the research and development subsidiary of HLB, a prominent Korean life sciences conglomerate, has been selected for its fifth government-backed research project this year, according to the firm.

Under the project, HLB Life Science R&D is joining a consortium developing next-generation drug candidates from minor cannabinoids as part of Korea's Gyeongbuk Industrial Hemp Regulatory Free Zone, a special economic zone where companies can legally grow and process hemp for medical and industrial use under relaxed drug-control rules.

The 29.6 billion won ($17 million) four-year project, backed by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Office for Government Policy Coordination, will involve HLB Life Science R&D, NeoKenBio, Apack, NBTHEPHARM, TopoLab and INGR, along with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and the Gyeongbuk Institute for Bio industry, to build a full research pipeline from hemp cultivation to raw material production, preclinical studies and commercialization.

The project expands existing industrial hemp research, which has focused mainly on cannabidiol, to include other minor cannabinoids such as cannabigerol, cannabichromene and cannabinol.

These compounds occur in trace amounts in cannabis, are largely nonpsychoactive and have shown anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and immune-regulating properties in early research, according to HLB Life Science R&D.

HLB Life Science R&D said it will lead candidate discovery and preclinical research, including efficacy testing, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis and safety evaluation, aiming to advance candidates toward clinical trials.

The company said it plans to pursue domestic and international patents based on the resulting data.

An HLB Life Science R&D official said the project marks a starting point for building a domestic drug development ecosystem based on minor cannabinoids, adding that the company aims to secure reliable data that could lead to future technology transfers and joint international development.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.