CNPharm Improves 'Hydroxychloroquine' with Advanced Toxicity Control Technology

Plan to Develop New Drugs to Combat COVID-19 by Reducing Toxicity of Existing Drugs
"Sequential Development of Low-Toxicity Improved Drugs from Clinical Failure Drugs"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Hyundai Bio announced on the 9th that its major shareholder CNPharm will develop an existing drug used to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, AIDS, etc., into a new drug to treat the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) by applying cutting-edge technology.

CNPharm selected 'Hydroxychloroquine,' a drug used to treat malaria and rheumatoid arthritis, as the primary candidate drug for modification into a COVID-19 treatment.

Hydroxychloroquine is known to block viral entry into cells by alleviating the acidity of endosomes within cells. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended international joint clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment using this drug. Former U.S. President Donald Trump called it a 'game changer' that could change the course of COVID-19. However, after serious side effects appeared before efficacy was proven in various clinical trials, WHO recently withdrew its clinical recommendation, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) canceled its emergency use authorization.

CNPharm expects that by using its advanced toxicity control-based drug delivery system (DDS) technology, it can minimize the toxicity of hydroxychloroquine and maintain a stable effective drug concentration in the blood. They plan to develop it as a modified new drug to treat COVID-19. CNPharm's drug delivery technology is based on biocompatible polymers that allow the drug to be slowly released in the bloodstream, lowering the drug concentration below the level at which side effects occur while continuously circulating the drug in the body to produce therapeutic effects. The principle is that the low-toxicity drug remains in the body for a long time to focus treatment on diseases caused by viral invasion.

CNPharm's unique toxicity control and drug delivery technology became known worldwide through the development of 'pain-free' anticancer drug Polytaxel, which selectively treats cancer tissues without side effects caused by drug toxicity. Recent cell experiments showed that Polytaxel has up to 23 times lower toxicity than the existing anticancer drug Docetaxel, raising expectations that it could also be used as an anticancer agent for COVID-19 treatment.

CNPharm plans to develop the hydroxychloroquine modified new drug as quickly as possible and conduct cell and animal experiments in collaboration with specialized institutions. In addition to hydroxychloroquine, they will select additional candidates from drugs that WHO and artificial intelligence (AI) have estimated to be effective for COVID-19 treatment, as well as drugs that were eliminated in various cancer and viral disease clinical trials. They plan to expand the scope of new drug development by repurposing drugs to create new drugs that can be used to treat COVID-19.