[Good Brain 2026] Yoonjung Park, Nibec Vice President: "Limitless Potential of Peptides... We Must Prepare for the 'Next GLP-1'"

"Enhancing BBB Permeability Is the First Challenge"
"Building a Multi-Agonist Portfolio Essential for Competitiveness"

"From the perspective of someone responsible for both research and business, the limitless potential of peptide mechanisms is truly fascinating."

Yoonjung Park, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Vice President of Nibec, made this statement as she emphasized the industrial potential of peptide therapeutics during her lecture at the '2026 Good Brain Conference', held under the theme 'Brain Revolution: The Future of Humanity Changed by GLP-1' at The Westin Chosun Hotel Seoul, Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, on September 3. The event was hosted by The Asia Business Daily.

Yoonjung Park, Vice President of Naibec, is giving a lecture at the '2026 Good Brain Conference' held under the theme 'Brain Revolution: The Future of Humanity Changed by GLP-1' on the 3rd at Westin Chosun Hotel Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is known to suppress the excessive activation of microglia in the brain, thereby reducing neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity, while also improving mitochondrial energy metabolism. It has also been to some extent proven to improve synaptic function and inhibit cognitive decline. Park believes that leveraging these core mechanisms could expand the application of GLP-1-based therapeutics beyond traditional treatments for diabetes and obesity to include degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

She stated, "From the perspective of central nervous system (CNS) treatment, peptide drugs including GLP-1 have the significant advantage of high safety within the body," adding that "the ability to combine different payloads or modalities during the peptide synthesis process is particularly appealing."

However, Park also explained that there are many challenges to overcome before such drugs can be developed into practical therapeutics with proven efficacy and convenience. The first challenge is improving the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which serves as a 'brain shield.' Currently, global pharmaceutical companies such as Roche are conducting research to efficiently deliver therapeutic agents into the brain using methods like BBB shuttle technology targeting the transferrin receptor (TfR) and lipid nanoparticles (LNPs).

Since a considerable proportion of CNS disease patients are elderly, she also highlighted the importance of improving medication adherence—how well patients follow prescribed dosages, methods, and schedules. Possible solutions include developing 'long-acting formulations,' where a single injection works for one to three months, or converting injectables into oral formulations that can be taken daily, thus innovating drug delivery methods.

Park further stressed the need to develop a 'Next GLP-1' by utilizing multi-agonists that act on multiple targets simultaneously. She explained that because CNS diseases involve complex pathological mechanisms—such as abnormal protein accumulation, neuroinflammation, and neuronal damage—it is important to employ multi-pronged treatment strategies that address various mechanisms at once.

Park said, "Whereas past approaches have largely involved using antagonists to suppress disease-related signals, going forward, it will become more important to promote the body's innate protection, recovery, and regeneration mechanisms through agonists. We must build a multi-agonist portfolio in order to achieve a competitive edge in the global market."

Nibec is focusing on developing therapies for fibrosis, inflammatory diseases, obesity, and metabolic disorders based on peptide technology. Recently, the company succeeded in significantly improving drug delivery efficiency to the brain by using a 'dual targeting' BBB shuttle technology aimed at two receptors simultaneously. In animal models of dementia, they observed that administering an oligopeptide inhibiting the dementia-inducing enzyme BACE1—combined with the BBB shuttle—led to behavioral indicators impaired by dementia returning to normal levels.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.