A clinical trial of 'VERT-002,' an innovative targeted treatment for degrading a c-MET gene, will begin in South Korea. C-MET gene is known as one of the cancer-inducing factors of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

On November 27, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has granted approval of 'a first-in-human (FIH) multi-center, dose-escalation, dose-expansion Phase I/II clinical trial with VERT-002 for patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors, including NSCLC.'

This clinical trial will be conducted at the Asan Medical Center in Seoul and the Severance Hospital.

The VERT-002 candidate product was developed by Vertical Bio, a Swiss-based biotechnolo