Daewoong Completes Dosing in Phase 2b Clinical Trial for COVID-19 Treatment 'Coviblock'

Daewoong Pharmaceutical Headquarters Exterior (Photo by Daewoong Pharmaceutical)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Daewoong Pharmaceutical has completed the dosing of the Phase 2b clinical trial for its COVID-19 treatment candidate, 'COVIBLOCK.'

Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced on the 7th that it completed the dosing of the Phase 2b clinical trial for COVIBLOCK (active ingredient: Camostat Mesylate, formerly known as 'Hoista'), an oral COVID-19 treatment, on the 4th. This dosing was conducted on approximately 300 patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical plans to observe the patients' conditions for a certain period before analyzing the clinical trial data. If the analysis yields positive results, the company aims to apply for conditional approval within the third quarter.

In the earlier Phase 2a clinical trial conducted on 81 patients, Daewoong Pharmaceutical confirmed the potential of COVIBLOCK as a COVID-19 treatment. In patients aged 60 or older or those with underlying conditions, the COVIBLOCK group showed a tendency for faster viral clearance compared to the control group. The Early Warning Score (NEWS), a scale quantifying patient severity, also showed signs of improvement.

The current Phase 2b trial, like the Phase 2a, aims to verify the efficacy and safety of COVIBLOCK compared to a placebo. To this end, the trial involves over 300 participants, more than in Phase 2a.

During the analysis, Daewoong Pharmaceutical plans to evaluate various indicators related to disease improvement and deterioration, such as the time taken for symptom improvement and the proportion of patients whose condition worsened requiring additional treatment, based on pre-identified age and underlying disease information collected during patient recruitment for both the COVIBLOCK and placebo groups. Through analyzing various clinical symptom improvement and deterioration prevention indicators in this Phase 2b trial, the company intends to demonstrate that COVIBLOCK contributes to the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

COVIBLOCK, previously known as Hoista, is an oral medication that has been prescribed for over 10 years. Its main ingredient, Camostat, works by blocking the entry of viruses into cells within the human body, thereby inhibiting viral replication and improving inflammation. Daewoong Pharmaceutical is conducting clinical trials not only on patients with mild COVID-19 but also on self-quarantined individuals exposed to the COVID-19 virus and patients with severe symptoms.