Proteina to Present Osteoarthritis Drug Research Results at OARSI 2026

Challenging the DMOAD Frontier: "PRT101"

Proteina, an AI-driven drug discovery company specializing in protein-protein interaction big data, will participate in the "2026 Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI 2026)" conference, which will be held in the United States from April 23 to 26. At this event, the company will present research findings on its innovative first-in-class drug candidate. Proteina announced that its abstract on PRT101, a disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD) candidate, has been selected for a poster presentation at the conference.

Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI), founded in 1990, is the world’s largest and most prestigious international society in the field of osteoarthritis research. This year, "OARSI 2026" will take place at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in Florida, USA, bringing together over 1,000 researchers and industry professionals from more than 40 countries to discuss the latest breakthroughs in osteoarthritis research and new drug development trends.

Yoon Taeyoung, CEO of Proteina, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily. Photo by Yoon Dongju

PRT101 is a novel drug candidate that directly targets the SOX9 protein, a key transcription factor in cartilage formation, promoting its aggregation and thereby increasing its activity through a new mechanism of action. While existing strategies have focused on inhibiting abnormal aggregates or suppressing the activity of transcription factors, PRT101 takes the opposite approach by precisely inducing these processes to simultaneously drive structural cartilage regeneration and pain relief. Currently, there are no approved DMOADs that can fundamentally slow disease progression in the global osteoarthritis market. The leading drugs in phase 3 clinical trials, such as Lorecivivint, have shown only partial efficacy in delaying knee joint space narrowing, with marginal pain relief and, most critically, low efficacy in severe patient groups, highlighting clear limitations.

To overcome the limitations of existing leading candidates, efficacy validation experiments with PRT101 are being conducted in severe osteoarthritis animal models (DMM). In these models, which have been a challenge for other drugs, PRT101 has objectively demonstrated substantial cartilage structural regeneration and strong pain suppression. Additionally, efficacy has been proven through behavioral experiments, such as improvement in mobility impairment, underscoring its relative superiority over leading competitors and supporting its potential as a next-generation standard therapy.

Proteina plans to accelerate global partnering for its proprietary drug development pipeline, starting with this OARSI poster presentation. In June, the company will participate in major international conferences and partnering events, including EULAR (European Congress of Rheumatology) and BIO USA, where it will present the research achievements of multiple proprietary pipeline candidates currently under development to overseas pharmaceutical companies.

Proteina is also increasing the speed of its drug development process by advancing the manufacturing of its proprietary high-speed, high-throughput protein-protein interaction big data generation platform (SPID). The company has recently expanded its capacity to generate antibody variant experimental data from 5,000 per week to over 10,000 per week, with a maximum throughput of 38,000, thereby widening its technological lead over global peers. This big data generation capability is expected to be a key driver in accelerating both joint development with partners and the advancement of Proteina’s own pipeline.

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