[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Hyundai Bio's stock price is on the rise. Interest in oral treatments has increased since news broke that the U.S. government signed a pre-purchase agreement for MSD's oral COVID-19 treatment 'Molnupiravir.'
As of 9:38 a.m. on the 11th, Hyundai Bio was trading at 37,750 KRW, up 2.17% (800 KRW) compared to the previous trading day. Along with this, Shinpung Pharmaceutical is also soaring by more than 10%.
On the 24th of last month, Hyundai Bio announced through a special issue of the world-renowned academic journal 'Pharmaceuticals' that Merck's MK-4482 maintained an effective concentration (IC50) for more than 8 hours with a single dose, with a Cmax 22 times higher than the IC50. In comparison, CNPharm's CP-COV03 maintained an effective concentration above IC50 for more than 24 hours in animal experiments with a single dose, recording a Cmax about 300 times higher, raising expectations for greater success as an antiviral agent.
CNPharm's CP-COV03 will compete in efficacy with Pfizer's PF-07321332 and Merck's MK-4482, which are classified as the same antiviral agents. CNPharm expects that niclosamide, the base drug of CP-COV03, will be superior in efficacy because it not only inhibits viral replication but also has a mechanism for virus elimination.
On the 9th (local time), MSD announced that it had signed a pre-purchase agreement with the U.S. government for the oral treatment Molnupiravir (development code MK-4482). Upon receiving emergency use authorization or other approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Molnupiravir, MSD will supply 1.7 million doses to the U.S. government. The deal is worth approximately 1.2 billion USD (about 1.3 trillion KRW).
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