Celltrion gets clinical trial approval for coronavirus treatment in Britain
Celltrion, a leading pharmaceutical firm in South Korea, said Thursday that it has won approval to conduct a phase one clinical trial for its antibody treatment against the new coronavirus in Britain.
Celltrion, a leading pharmaceutical firm in South Korea, said Thursday that it has won approval to conduct a phase one clinical trial for its antibody treatment against the new coronavirus in Britain.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) gave the green light to administer Celltrion's CT-P59 to COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the antiviral antibody treatment.
Celltrion said it plans to conduct phase two and three clinical studies for the candidate on COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms by the end of this year.
In South Korea, Celltrion is currently conducting a phase one clinical trial for its CT-P59 by enrolling 32 healthy volunteers who have not contracted COVID-19.
The initial tests in Britain are to be completed by the third quarter, and if they are successful, Celltrion will subsequently conduct second and third phase clinical trials.
Celltrion earlier said that its antiviral antibody treatment showed a hundredfold reduction in the viral load of SARS-CoV-2, the virus known to be causing COVID-19, in animal testing.
The company also said it plans to begin the production of its antiviral antibody treatment at its plant in Songdo in the western port city of Incheon when the drug demonstrates therapeutic efficacy and safety in the second phase clinical trial. (Yonhap)