Zymedi, a South Korea-based global biopharmaceutical company, announced on Wednesday that it has commenced the first in human dosage of ZMA001, a monoclonal antibody being developed as a first-in-class treatment for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH).

The placebo-controlled phase one trial is aimed at ascertaining the safety and dosage of ZMA001, which is a collaborative effort between Zymedi and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In the preceding year, both parties entered into a Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) to jointly advance the development of ZMA001.

ZMA001 is a human monoclonal antibody aimed at controlling and inhibiting inflammation responses in pulmonary blood vessels by blocking lysyl-tRNA synthetase (KARS1)-dependent infiltration of monocytes and macrophages.

Dr Sunghoon Kim, Zymedi CEO and founder, said, 'We are excited to initiate this first in human trial of ZMA001, which marks a significant milestone for our company and the fight against PAH. We are scheduled to assess the safety and tolerability of ZMA001 through dose escalation clinical trials, systematically observing adverse reactions as dosage increases. Furthermore, we aim to establish the recommended dosage and determine the Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) for forthcoming phase 1b/2a clinical trials involving patients.'