Celltrion to enter clinical trials of new COVID-19 treatment

South Korean biosimilar maker Celltrion Inc. will launch the first-phase clinical trials of its new COVID-19 treatment candidate next month, following the development of the country's first coronavirus treatment Regkirona.

Amid the rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, Celltrion has upgraded the materials for the new treatment candidate CT-P63 so that the antibodies will stick easily to the surface of the coronavirus to block its penetration into our body's cells, the company said on Wednesday.

To accelerate the development, Celltrion has already produced its specimens for clinical trials. 

"We are studying cocktail therapy of both Regkirona and CT-P63 to increase the efficacy against viral variants," said a Celltrion official.

Last month, Celltrion’s first COVID-19 treatment Regkirona received the Indonesian government’s permission for restricted use, marking its first approval by an overseas health authority. 

Animal test results demonstrated its efficacy against the Delta variant. For 49 laboratory mice infected with the variant, Regkirona significantly reduced viral titer, according to a study by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The company added that Regkirona has also showed neutralizing activity against the Lambda variant, which has become prevalent starting from Peru.
 
Celltrion is awaiting the approval of Regkirona in a number of other countries and regions.

Other South Korean pharmaceutical companies have joined in the development of Delta variant treatments. Last month, Korea United Pharm Inc. has received approval for Phase II clinical trials of its treatment candidate "U1030" from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. It will be used with an inhaler.

The treatment candidate showed up to five times higher antivirus efficacy against the Delta variant than against the GH group, the most common coronavirus variant among South Koreans, according to the company. It also demonstrated antiviral efficacy against both the Alpha and Beta variants of the coronavirus. 

This month, Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. is set to announce the final results of Phase II trials of its Delta variant treatment candidate Coviblock. According to its interim Phase II results unveiled last week, a patient group with respiratory symptoms showed an improvement five days after receiving the treatment, three days shorter than the control group that was not treated.

Write to Ju-hyun Lee at deep@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.