[Special Stock] Hyundai Bio Gains Competitive Edge Over US Pfizer and Merck... Mechanism for Eliminating COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Hyundai Bio has been on the rise for two consecutive days. It appears that the stock price was influenced by the news that Choi Jin-ho, a distinguished professor at Dankook University and research advisor of major shareholder C&Pharm, announced research results titled 'COVID-19 Game Changer Drug' at the 'Asia Academic Conference (SCA)' held in Guangzhou, China the day before.

As of 9:29 AM on the 14th, Hyundai Bio was trading at 41,700 KRW, up 8.17% (3,150 KRW) compared to the previous trading day.

In February, the Institute of Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at Jeonbuk National University disclosed the efficacy test results and related data of C&Pharm’s oral COVID-19 treatment CP-COV03, conducted on animals infected with COVID-19.

In the in vivo experiment, to confirm the efficacy of niclosamide, blood virus levels were compared between the non-treated control group and the treated experimental groups. The control group showed the highest blood virus levels on the third day of infection, which began to decrease from the fourth day. The five experimental groups recorded the lowest levels on the same day, showing a clear contrast. Notably, in the experimental group administered the lowest dose of 25 mg/kg, the virus levels were confirmed to be '0' or close to '0', demonstrating a distinct antiviral effect.

The difference in blood virus levels between the control and experimental groups is known to result from niclosamide’s mechanisms of ▲virus replication inhibition and ▲virus elimination. This study is the first in the world to prove through in vivo experiments that the anthelmintic drug niclosamide can be repurposed as an oral antiviral drug.

C&Pharm believes that CP-COV03 will compete in efficacy with Pfizer’s PF-07321332 and Merck’s MK-4482, which are classified as the same type of antiviral drugs. C&Pharm expects that niclosamide, the base drug of CP-COV03, will be superior in efficacy because it possesses not only virus replication inhibition but also virus elimination mechanisms.

An antiviral drug is a medicine that inhibits virus replication mechanisms, like Tamiflu, which was a 'game changer' for novel flu. It differs from virucidal drugs that kill viruses through toxic effects. In the field of oral COVID-19 treatments, only global pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Merck have succeeded in developing antiviral drugs and are challenging clinical trials, indicating that cutting-edge biotechnology is required for antiviral drug development.

Dr. Kim Kyung-il, CTO of C&Pharm, explained, "Unlike other treatments, a true antiviral drug must confirm how long the drug remains in the blood at concentrations above the maximum blood concentration (Cmax) and the effective concentration (IC50) that inhibits 50% of virus activity. The difference between Cmax and IC50 concentrations is also important because the larger this difference, the higher the chance of success as an antiviral drug."

Merck’s MK-4482 maintained IC50 for more than 8 hours with a single dose, and its Cmax was 22 times higher than IC50. In comparison, C&Pharm’s CP-COV03 maintained effective concentrations above IC50 for over 24 hours in animal experiments with a single dose, and its Cmax was approximately 300 times higher, raising expectations for greater success as an antiviral drug.

Hyundai Bio and C&Pharm regard CP-COV03, the first niclosamide drug repurposing candidate, as a potential 'game changer' that can calm the 'COVID-19 pandemic' and are accelerating follow-up experiments and related procedures for rapid clinical entry.

C&Pharm has succeeded in repurposing niclosamide by dramatically improving the two biggest obstacles?▲extremely low absorption rate in the body and ▲excessively short blood concentration half-life?through drug delivery technology. CP-COV03 is expected to be a game changer not only for COVID-19 but also in the future war against viruses.