Korean bio firms in race for COVID-19 treatment, vaccine development

Health authorities visiting an SK Bioscience plant, Sept. 10, which is in the process of developing a COVID-19 vaccine. Courtesy of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Yonhap

South Korean pharmaceutical companies have joined the global race to develop vaccines and treatments for the COVID-19 pandemic, and several of them have received approval for clinical trials from the country's drug safety agency.

Among the front-runners is Celltrion's antiviral antibody treatment candidate CT-P59 that is currently undergoing Phase 2 and about to start Phase 3 trials both at home and abroad.

Celltrion said it had completed Phase 1 clinical trials on 32 healthy adults around the country and had not found any side effects.

The company is currently conducting the Phase 2 trials on 300 people with mild to severe symptoms of the coronavirus, which will allow researchers to better check CT-P59's efficacy against COVID-19 and its overall safety.

Phase 3, involving around 720 people, will be carried out to see if the candidate material is actually effective against the viral infection, according to the pharmaceutical giant.

Celltrion said that besides South Korea, it has requested clinical trials of CT-P59 in the United States, Romania and three other countries as part of its ongoing effort to find a viable treatment for COVID-19.

Small drug firm Bioneer is also in the process of developing a COVID-19 vaccine, with the aim of conducting clinical trials early next year.

The drug is a type of RNA treatment that directly attacks the genome of the COVID-19 coronavirus and dismantles it, company officials said.

SK Bioscience, the pharmaceutical unit of SK Group, is considered one of the front-runners in developing a safe and effective vaccine.

The company, which currently receives government funding, is in the process of vaccine development, with a plan to start Phase 1 clinical trials early this month.

The company has also recently signed deals to work with British-Swedish bio giant AstraZeneca to produce vaccines once they are developed.

The government earlier announced that it will spend a total of 94 billion won (US$80.3 million) this year to help local firms develop vaccines and treatments, and set aside 260.4 billion won for next year.

Currently, clinical trials of 15 treatment drugs and one vaccine are under way in the country, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. (Yonhap)