[Featured Stock] Peptron Begins Development of Universal COVID-19 Natural Treatment Inducer... Effective Against Variants

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Peptron's stock price is on the rise. The news that it has started developing a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment based on its self-developed antibody drug 'PAb001' appears to have influenced the stock price.

As of 10 a.m. on the 14th, Peptron is trading at 17,150 KRW, up 8.2% from the previous day.

Peptron posted the news of starting COVID-19 treatment development on its website the day before.

PAb001 is an antibody drug targeting mucin1 (MUC1), which is overexpressed in most cancer types. Peptron introduced that, in addition to its anticancer effects, it has confirmed the potential to show therapeutic effects against the COVID-19 virus and plans to focus on developing a COVID-19 treatment.

The drugs developed as COVID-19 treatments are classified by mechanism into ▲ those that kill the virus itself, such as vaccines and malaria treatments ▲ and those that block virus infection or inhibit replication, such as plasma and antibody drugs. Many experts emphasize the need for effective therapeutic agents targeting acute respiratory viruses like SARS, MERS, and COVID-19.

Peptron focused on the role of mucin1 in suppressing infection through the mucin-layer, the primary defense mechanism when the body is infected by viruses or pathogens. When cells are damaged due to aging or immune inflammatory responses, the mucin layer is disrupted, and a modified form of mucin1 (sialyated MUC1) appears. They noted that viruses can bind to sialyated MUC1, creating an infection route to penetrate lung cells.

Using the PAb001 antibody developed to target mucin1, Peptron has initiated research to explore and demonstrate therapeutic efficacy such as fundamentally blocking the viral infection route and killing infected cells through immune cell and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) effects.

Through this research, they expect to develop a universal therapeutic drug that induces natural healing by blocking infection routes or killing infected cells without directly targeting frequently mutating RNA viruses. It is also anticipated to be applicable for treating infections caused by COVID-19 and its variants.

Based on the research results, Peptron has established business plans for developing virus treatments with new mechanisms, proving the possibility of treating acute viruses beyond COVID-19, and universal usage. They also plan to promote commercialization discussions with global companies through this.