CURACLE to Co-Develop Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Treatment CU72 with Standigm

[Financial News] CURACLE, a company specializing in intractable vascular diseases, is teaming up with AI-based drug discovery firm Standigm to develop a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
CURACLE said on the 26th that its project to develop CU72, a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, jointly promoted with Standigm, had been selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' 2026 collaborative technology development project for pharmaceutical and biotech ventures.
Through the project, CURACLE and Standigm will receive a total of 1 billion won in R&D funding over the next two years and will work to identify a lead compound for CU72. A lead compound is selected from among multiple candidates after a comprehensive evaluation of efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetic properties for further development.
CU72 is a new small-molecule compound under development for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a rare disease in which lung tissue gradually becomes fibrotic without a clear cause, leading to a progressive decline in lung function. The field has a strong demand for new treatments that can be used over the long term.
Standigm will lead lead-compound discovery using its proprietary AI drug design platform, STELLA. CURACLE plans to handle small-molecule synthesis, pharmacokinetic and safety evaluations, and efficacy testing in animal models to assess the development potential of candidate compounds.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding in 2023 for joint global drug development and commercialization, and have since continued collaborating to identify new targets and candidate compounds. This project marks their first joint development case linking both companies' technologies and research capabilities to the creation of an actual new pipeline.
A CURACLE official said, "We plan to combine Standigm's AI technology with CURACLE's drug development capabilities to identify competitive pipelines that can follow CU06 and CU71 and connect them to further development," adding, "Through open innovation that combines external innovative technologies with our internal development capabilities, we will continue to discover new pipelines in the field of intractable diseases."

[email protected] Jung Sang-hee Reporter