Bukwang Pharm wins clinical trial approval for COVID-19 treatment

SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean pharmaceutical firm Bukwang Pharm Co. has won approval for clinical trials of its treatment drug for the novel coronavirus, industry sources said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has given the green light to the second-phase clinical trial for Levovir, a hepatitis B infection treatment, they said.

It marks the first time that a local company will conduct clinical trials of a treatment drug on patients infected with COVID-19.

A total of 60 COVID-19 patients will be administered with Levovir to show efficacy and safety.

Levovir, an antiviral drug that won sales approval in 2006, is the world's fourth hepatitis B virus drug. It inhibits the replication of viral genetic materials.

The company earlier said Lenovivr showed similar results to AIDS treatment Kaletra, which is used to treat COVID-19 patients during in-vitro tests of viruses.

khj@yna.co.kr
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