Celltrion's COVID-19 treatment substance shows efficacy

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- Celltrion Inc., a leading South Korean pharmaceutical company, said Monday it will conduct additional clinical trials for its coronavirus antibody treatment substance.

The substance, called CT-P59, will be administered to some 1,000 people, including asymptomatic COVID-19 patients and those who had close contacts with COVID-19 patients.

The clinical trials come after the company successfully completed a phase one clinical trial on 32 healthy volunteers who have not contracted the COVID-19 virus.

Separately, CT-P59 is currently undergoing phase two and three trials both at home and abroad.

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

The phase three trial will be carried out on around 720 people to see if the candidate material is actually effective against viral infections, 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 efforts to find viable treatment materials to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

khj@yna.co.kr
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