[Featured Stock] SMAC Rises for 2 Consecutive Days on Expectations for COVID-19 Treatment Development

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Esmac has been on an upward trend for two consecutive days. It appears that news of its subsidiary Dinona pursuing the development of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment through the mechanism of neutrophil reduction has had an impact.

As of 10:39 AM on the 3rd, Esmac was trading at 1,195 KRW, up 1.27% (15 KRW) compared to the previous trading day.

Esmac's subsidiary Dinona is advancing the development of a COVID-19 treatment by utilizing the mechanism of neutrophil reduction from an anticancer drug candidate substance. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell produced in the body to block viruses invading from outside; however, when overexpressed, they cause large-scale inflammatory responses due to a cytokine storm. The treatment mechanism aims to control neutrophil reduction that triggers fatal inflammatory responses to treat patients.

Dinona, a subsidiary of Esmac, is conducting emergency clinical trials of the antibody DNP002, which regulates neutrophil expression, through Seoul Asan Medical Center, and plans to submit a fast-track emergency clinical trial application to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety within this month. Additionally, it is reported that they are considering a large-scale investment of up to 30 billion KRW for the development of the treatment.