Hyundai Bioscience Develops Injection Drug for Potential Treatment of Severe Cases of COVID-19

- Expected to maintain 'IC100' during treatment while minimizing side effects

- Expanded Access Program prior to NDA is sought to help urgent patients in blind spots

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Dec 22, 2020, 21:09 ET

SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Bioscience (KOSDAQ symbol: 048410) announced on the 23^rd, December 2020, that CNPharm, its major shareholding bio tech company, has succeeded in developing 'Poly-COV01,' an injection drug for the potential treatment of patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Hyundai Bioscience stated that CNPharm teamed up with Dt&CRO, a Korean contract research organization (CRO), to process animal and clinical studies for this new COVID-19 injection drug.

Hyundai Bio expects that Poly-COV01 may become a 'hopeful shot' as a last resort for severely ill patients with COVID-19 who are currently at the crossroads of life and death. Determined to proceed with the clinical procedure of Poly-COV01 as quickly as possible, Hyundai Bioscience is now working with Korean authorities to schedule an efficacy study.

It is reported that, similar to 'Peramivir,' an injection to serve as the last hope for severely ill patients who were unable to take 'Tamiflu', the 'game changer' oral drug, during the 2009 influenza, Poly-COV01 was developed for the few severely ill COVID-19 patients who cannot ingest drugs orally or through nasal inhalation.

Hyundai Bio states that the active pharmaceutical ingredient or API of Poly-COV01's is Niclosamide and they successfully resolved the short half-life problem of Niclosamide in the blood. Poly-COV01 was developed based on CNPharm's 'pain-free anticancer drug' platform with the aim of maintaining 'IC100,' an effective drug concentration level in the blood that inhibits virus proliferation by 100% by controlling the number of administrations. It is characterized by minimizing the side effects from drug toxicity.

Niclosamide was selected by the Institut Pasteur Korea as the No. 1 candidate for the treatment of COVID-19 among major drugs of the world in April 2020. In addition to its potency to treat coronavirus, pharmaceutical societies have acknowledged its capability to treat other diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

Hyundai Bio is pursuing a plan to provide priority to severely ill patients who are further driven into outlying treatments in the 'third coronavirus pandemic wave'. If approved as 'Expanded Access Program', Poly-COV01 can be administered to patients even before it is finally approved as new drug. Expanded Access Program is an exceptional program that allows new drugs in the clinical stage, prior to new drug approval, to be administered to patients with incurable diseases or terminal cancer.

About Hyundai Bioscience

HYUNDAI BIOSCIENCE is a biotechnology company that develops and commercializes bio-fusion technology with the purpose of delivering active ingredients safely and efficiently to targeted areas of the body. Hyundai Bioscience's Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Technology is a novel drug delivery system technology that allows the selective and effective delivery of active substances on the target area in combination with bio-friendly delivery vehicles. Applying its technology in the fields of tumor-targeted drugs and even skin & scalp care, Hyundai Bioscience will continue to expand its business scope by introducing innovative biotechnology and new effective products.

SOURCE Hyundai Bioscience