NewGLab, Nafamostat Global Clinical Trial... "Smooth Progress in COVID-19 Treatment Development"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] NewGelab, which is participating in the Phase 2 clinical trial for the development of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) treatment Nafamostat, is recently promoting overseas clinical trials in Pakistan, where many COVID-19 patients are occurring.

NewGelab announced on the 6th that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the national cancer research institute located in Pakistan, ‘Cancer Research Pakistan’ (CRPak), and is promoting global clinical trials of ‘Nafamostat’ within Pakistan.

NewGelab recently started administering Nafamostat to the first domestic clinical patients at Gyeongsang National University under Professor Inkyu Bae’s team and Seoul Medical Center, and is currently conducting Phase 2 clinical trials. It is leading the research and development of COVID-19 treatments based on Nafamostat. It has filed a patent for the pill form of ‘Nafamostat oral formulation,’ which can be easily taken at home, and is actively developing it.

CRPak, which signed the MOU, is a nonprofit cancer research institute established last year with investment from the University of Oxford in the UK. Its headquarters are in Oxford, UK, and it has regional centers throughout Pakistan.

CRPak is regarded as a leading organization in COVID-19 drug research in Pakistan and is collaborating with researchers and institutions worldwide to develop new drugs for COVID-19. In particular, it is currently conducting randomized clinical trials and observational studies within Pakistan to evaluate COVID-19 treatments.

As of the 5th, Pakistan has a cumulative total of 280,000 confirmed cases, with about 800 new daily cases, and a total of approximately 6,000 deaths so far. The treatment of COVID-19 patients is an urgent situation.

A NewGelab official said, "We plan to accelerate through overseas clinical trials," and added, "If clinical trials are conducted overseas including Pakistan, we believe that the final result confirmation time can be advanced through rapid patient recruitment." He also said, "We will closely collaborate with CRPak to produce meaningful results."

The official also added, "The efficacy of Nafamostat was confirmed by the news of the recovery of actual confirmed patients from the team of Professor Jiyoung Lee at Dankook University Hospital, participating in the project of Professor Inkyu Bae’s team at Gyeongsang National University on the 4th," and said, "We will do our best for the successful development of the Nafamostat oral formulation as soon as possible."

The development of treatments based on Nafamostat is being conducted domestically by NewGelab and Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical. Clinical trials are also actively underway overseas, including in Japan.