GC Wellbeing said Monday that it has confirmed the efficacy of its GCWB106, an extract from Korean dendranthema, on improving symptoms and easing pain in patients of knee osteoarthritis through human application tests.

The joint research team of GC Wellbeing and Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital observed the patient's symptoms and severity of pain. They found that the visual analog scale (VAS) of pain assessment, ranging from zero to 100, decreased by 30 percent, from 43 points to 30 on average.

They also confirmed improvement in the knee osteoarthritis symptom index, called the “Korean Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (K-WOMAC).”

GC Wellbeing is carrying out a government project to develop omics-based customized anti-aging materials for joint health, supported by the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The company said that it would proceed with the second human study that applies omics-based single nucleotide polymorphism, micro ribonucleic acid, and biomarkers, jointly with GC Genome in 2021.

"We believe the results of this human test will have a positive impact on the approval of GCWB106," GC Wellbeing Director Han Hye-jeong said. "We will conduct clinical trials to confirm the efficacy and biomarkers, according to individual genetic differences, and prepare for winning approval from foreign regulators, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration."