An ethnic Korean-run pharmaceutical firm in the United States has developed a cure for hepatitis C.

VGX Pharmaceuticals CEO Joseph Kim on Tuesday said his firm has developed VGX-820, whose mechanical structure is completely different from that of conventional medicine for the disease.

The company will launch clinical tests in July.

Kim was selected as one of 15 figures of Newsweek's "Who's Next 2005" for his development of an AIDS cure.

VGX was also named "Technology Pioneer" at the Davos Forum in 2004.

Saying clinical tests on the AIDS medication VGX-410 are going smoothly, Kim expects the pill to hit the market in 2008 and that for hepatitis C in 2009.