RudaCure, a biotech venture specializing in membrane-protein-targeted drug discovery, took part in BIO USA 2026 to share the development status of its lead pipelines for dry eye disease and osteoarthritis pain. The participation was featured by the Korean industry outlet Hit News.
RudaCure develops drugs targeting membrane proteins such as GPCRs and ion channels, combining structure-based drug design (SBDD) with AI and computational-chemistry platforms to discover differentiated candidates. At the event, the company joined a corporate presentation session to unveil clinical results and future plans for ‘RCI001’, a first-in-class dry eye disease candidate, and ‘RCI002’, an osteoarthritis pain peptide.
Research Director Shin Ji-yoon said, “This event was a meaningful opportunity to raise our global visibility; through the corporate presentation session we introduced our vision and pipeline on the world stage,” adding, “We directly confirmed the strong interest of global pharmaceutical companies searching for innovative drug technologies.”
On site, the company focused on the Phase 1 results and Phase 2 preparation plans for its lead dry eye candidate ‘RCI001’, and also presented the progress of its osteoarthritis pain peptide ‘RCI002’. During the event RudaCure held partnering meetings with about 15 companies — including preclinical and clinical service providers and firms interested in technology licensing — and around 70 visitors and industry members stopped by its booth.
Notably, a number of global companies including ASTERI and Lolyx Therapeutics expressed interest in licensing RudaCure’s pipeline. In the second half of the year, RudaCure plans to demonstrate efficacy through the domestic Phase 2 trial of RCI001 and to concentrate its preclinical research so that RCI002 can promptly file for Phase 1 IND approval.
Shin added, “RudaCure is at an important turning point, moving beyond R&D toward global commercialization. Building on our pipeline, we will do our utmost to deliver tangible drug-development results in the global market.”
▶ Original article: “RudaCure properly showcased the competitiveness of its dry eye and pain pipelines” (Hit News, reporter Hwang Jae-seon)