(Yicai Global) Oct. 24 -- Fujian Cosunter Pharmaceutical Co. [SHE:300436] and WuXi AppTec Group have reported positive progress on their development of a targeted medicine for fatty liver disease, and plan to submit applications for the registration of the new drug to the China and US Food and Drug Administrations in the second half of next year, Cosunter said in a press briefing on Oct. 23.

The drug boasts strong targeting selectivity and druggability, as well as notable efficiency and high safety during experiments. It also possesses remarkable hepatic fibrosis-resistant qualities.

Cosunter hopes the new medicine will be capable of filling a gap in the market for the treatment of hepatic fibrosis worldwide.

Fatty liver, a major public health concern worldwide, is closely related to obesity and diabetes. China has more than 150 million sufferers of the disease and it is forecast that the global overweight population will reach 2.16 billion by 2030. The market scale for fatty liver treatment will reach USD1.69 billion by 2020.