Huadong Medicine's subsidiary gets green light for drug trial

Huadong Medicine (SZSE:000963) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sino-US Huadong Pharmaceutical, has received approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for clinical trials of its HDM1005 injection. The drug is a novel Class 1 chemical drug and a dual-target agonist of GLP-1 and GIP receptors. The approved indication is for the treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) combined with obesity or overweight. Prior trials in China and the U.S. have been approved for weight management, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and obstructive sleep apnea. The company stated that this approval marks a significant milestone in the drug's development, enhancing its competitiveness in the endocrinology field, but cautioned that the development process is lengthy and subject to various uncertainties.