[Edaily Reporter NA EUN-KYUNG ] Inventage Lab Inc.(389470)is embarking on clinical development of “IVL3021,” a once-monthly obesity treatment candidate.

Inventage Lab Inc. announced on the 28th that it has submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a Phase 1 clinical trial in Australia for IVL3021, a long-acting obesity treatment containing semaglutide. IVL3021 is the first candidate in Inventage Lab Inc.’s obesity treatment pipeline to advance to the clinical stage. It is an obesity treatment being co-developed with Yuhan(000100); the two companies signed a joint development and commercialization agreement in January 2024. Under this arrangement, Inventage Lab Inc. is responsible for formulation optimization, early-stage development, and manufacturing, while Yuhan handles late-stage development and commercialization.

IVL3021 is a drug developed as a once-monthly formulation based on Novo Nordisk’s once-weekly obesity treatment “Wegovy” (active ingredient: semaglutide). By applying Inventage Lab Inc.’s drug delivery platform, “IVL-DrugFluidic,” the drug is designed to suppress the initial rapid release that occurs immediately after administration and ensure that the therapeutic effect lasts for one month.

Inventage Lab Inc. presented the preclinical trial results for IVL3021 at the American Diabetes Association (ADA 2026) conference last June. According to the company, in animal models of obesity, the IVL3021 treatment group demonstrated greater weight loss compared to the group receiving repeated doses of Wegovy. Weight maintenance was also observed in animals that switched from Wegovy to IVL3021 until the end of the trial.

In this clinical trial, the company plans to evaluate IVL3021’s pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics, safety, and tolerability in humans. Based on the clinical data obtained, Inventage Lab Inc. plans to expand discussions with global pharmaceutical companies regarding technology transfer and joint development.

Global pharmaceutical companies are also showing increasing interest in long-acting obesity treatments. Last September, Novo Nordisk signed an agreement with Sweden’s Nanecsa worth up to 1.165 billion euros (approximately 1.7 trillion won) for the development of long-acting medications.

Following semaglutide, Inventage Lab Inc. is also developing “IVL3024,” a once-monthly obesity treatment containing tirzepatide. An Inventage Lab Inc. official stated, “We plan to leverage the clinical results and development experience from IVL3021 for our subsequent pipeline to prepare for the clinical trial phase of IVL3024 and expand global partnerships in the obesity treatment field.”