[Featured Stock] Shinpung Pharmaceutical: Oral Treatment Essential Alongside COVID-19 Endgame Vaccine... Government Also Striving to Secure

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Shinpung Pharmaceutical has been soaring for two consecutive days. Since news broke that the U.S. government signed a pre-purchase agreement for MSD's oral COVID-19 treatment 'Molnupiravir,' trading volume has exploded. It appears that a rebound buying trend continued due to the significant stock price decline following the vaccine development by a global pharmaceutical company. Due to the sharp increase in short selling the previous day, some buy orders from short covering also came in. If Shinpung Pharmaceutical's Phase 2 clinical trial results are positive, it is interpreted that the expectation that the government, which had been criticized for its lukewarm support for vaccines, could actively support the drug influenced the market.

As of 1:57 PM on the 11th, Shinpung Pharmaceutical is trading at 85,000 won, up 12.43% from the previous day. It rose more than 23% the day before and is showing a strong trend for the second day.

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). If Molnupiravir receives emergency use authorization or other approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), MSD will supply 1.7 million doses to the U.S. government. The deal is worth about $1.2 billion (approximately 1.3 trillion won).

Following the U.S. government, the Korean government is also reportedly in discussions with MSD regarding the purchase of COVID-19 treatments. Medical media reported that Korea MSD and the government are negotiating over the purchase of Molnupiravir.

The reason governments worldwide are securing oral COVID-19 treatments is that the disease is considered one that can only be overcome by securing both vaccines and treatments. Merck's pill treatment is taken twice a day at 12-hour intervals for five days. It is said to inhibit the replication of the coronavirus in the body. Since it is an oral medication, it can be easily taken at home once prescribed by a hospital. The emergence of oral treatment pills is expected to be a true game changer in the war against COVID-19.

Efforts to develop oral treatments are also ongoing domestically. Shinpung Pharmaceutical is about to announce the results of its domestic Phase 2 clinical trial for the antimalarial drug 'Piramax,' which is being developed as a COVID-19 treatment. According to Shinpung Pharmaceutical, the domestic Phase 2 trial was completed on April 21 at 13 medical institutions nationwide with a total of 113 participants, and the related data is being analyzed. One media outlet reported that considering the data analysis and the timing of results, which is expected to be between 30 to 60 days, the Phase 2 results are likely to be released within this month at the latest.