Domestic COVID-19 Antibody Treatment Under Development Shows Protective Effects Against 6 Virus Types

Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (Director of the National Institute of Health), is holding a regular briefing on the domestic COVID-19 outbreak status and interim investigation results of confirmed cases on the afternoon of the 18th at the Korea Disease Control Headquarters in Cheongju, Chungbuk. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Hana Nah, Reporter Seunggon Han] It has been revealed that the antibody treatment for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) being developed domestically is effective against all six virus groups (S, L, V, G, GH, GR), including the recently prevalent GH type virus.

On the afternoon of the 24th, Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH), stated at a regular COVID-19 briefing held at the Chungbuk Disease Control Headquarters, "Regarding the development of antibody treatments, it has been confirmed at the cellular level that there is defensive capability against all six domestic genetic types."

Deputy Director Kwon said, "This was not directly confirmed in humans infected with mutated or variant viruses, but was confirmed through experiments using cells that showed defensive capability."

Previously, the domestically developed antibody treatment was confirmed to have defensive capability against the existing S type and GR type genetic variants. However, at that time, it was not confirmed whether it was effective against the GH type.

Subsequently, the National Institute of Health conducted experiments and analyses at the cellular level on the defensive capability of the antibody treatment, confirming that it is effective against all six virus types, including the GH type. The 'cellular level' experiment means that the effectiveness was confirmed through experiments on cells, not directly on humans infected with mutated or variant viruses.

Regarding the source of the antibody treatment, Deputy Director Kwon said, "We cannot disclose where the product was developed," and added, "The experiments were conducted using antibody treatments developed domestically."

Along with this, the CDCH announced that remdesivir has been administered as a COVID-19 treatment to 671 patients across 63 hospitals to date.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director Kwon commented on the timing and target of vaccination, saying, "Safety is the top priority, and the timing of vaccination is very important, but we also need to consider proceeding while observing the vaccination situations in other countries. The COVID-19 vaccine targets all people regardless of age or gender," adding, "If we suppress COVID-19, influenza, and other respiratory infectious diseases through social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand hygiene, we will be able to calmly prepare for and carry out the COVID-19 vaccination, which will take place sometime next year."