Forest Hills Lab is filing an IND to initiate a clinical phase 2 study on Parkinson's disease with the US FDA

Forest Hills Partners Hong Kong, S.A.R., China Limited (also known as Forest Hills Lab) is ready to file an Investigative New Drug (IND) application with the US FDA in April 2021 to assess tolerability and efficacy with one of its drug candidates, namely FHL-301 in a phase 2 clinical study for patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorders among aging population worldwide and currently there is no approved drug to slow down or reverse the progression of this devastating disease. The drug candidate to be tested in the upcoming trial has shown promising signs in an animal model study whereby glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) gene is upregulated to protect striatal neurons and neurotransmitters, potentially providing significant therapeutic effects to PD patients.

Forest Hills Lab is also developing several other drug candidates to initially target PD with strong scientific backgrounds. These drugs have clearly demonstrated a number of promising mechanisms of action to effectively treat disease-induced animals, such as anti-inflammatory, lysosome biogenesis, enhanced PD-related gene expression, neurotrophic protection, etc. Alex Yang, a Chair of the Board at Forest Hills Lab states that, "we are very pleased with our proactive approach to hopefully bring an effective treatment for one of the most challenging neurodegenerative diseases affecting a huge number of aging population whereby not just one drug but a multiple set of promising drugs would be tested in a controlled environment based on a precision-medicine approach tailored for specific PD patients." He further added that, "Forest Hills Lab is very unique and unmatched in the market to strategically apply such patient-specific approach to design and implement clinical protocols for a number of drug candidates all at the same time.

Forest Hills Lab has worked closely with one of the most prominent research institutions in the US, Rush University Medical Center to commercialize these promising drug candidates for highly unmet CNS disorders. Dr. Hahn-Jun Lee, M.Sc., Ph.D., Chief Science Officer, has also commented that "scientific rationale for FHL-301 to treat Parkinson's disease has been demonstrated with the animal disease model. It is very exciting to explore the efficacy of FH-301 with PD patients in upcoming phase 2 clinical study because FHL-301 has a unique mechanism of action which is not overlapped with other drugs, FHL-301 may be one of excellent alternative options for the treatment of Parkinson's disease".

Forest Hills Lab also believes in cooperation and partnering for the development of drugs particularly affecting a huge number of people all over the world. David Han, Chief Executive Officer, also states that, "we are very proactive in working closely with our partners in both of our cosmeceutical and therapeutic drug business lines and we also plan to raise funds through private placements and initial public offering to continue to build our platform".

About Forest Hills Lab

Forest Hills Lab is a company incorporated in Hong Kong, S.A.R., China (the "Company") with the corporate vision of creating healthy living for both young and elderly. The company has the cosmeceutical and medical device line of its business segment with HA dermal fillers and other related cosmetic products designed and manufactured from Korea. In particular, its HA dermal fillers are considered the highest quality with several new versions among its peers as recommended by many clinicians and doctors. Currently, the company manufactures and sells these products worldwide and is expanding its footprint in various target regions through close cooperation with local partners.

The Company is also developing a number of drug candidates in both new chemical entities and repurposed drugs as disease-modifying treatment for the neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Dementia with lewy bodies, etc. The company plans to line up several of these drug compounds ready for phase 2 clinical trials initially focused on Parkinson's disease.