Kangstem Biotech Collaborates with Seoul National University College of Pharmacy Research Team to Develop Oral COVID-19 Treatment

Gangstem Biotech CI (Photo by Gangstem Biotech)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Gangstem Biotech announced on the 7th that it has signed a joint research agreement with Professor Sanghee Kim's team at Seoul National University College of Pharmacy for the "development of antiviral therapeutics using low-molecular-weight compounds."

Currently, remdesivir is the only COVID-19 treatment officially approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, as it is an injectable limited to shortening the treatment period for severe patients, there is an urgent need to develop therapeutics that demonstrate clear antiviral efficacy. This is why global major pharmaceutical companies such as Merck (MSD), Pfizer, and Roche are conducting clinical trials for oral therapeutics. Merck plans to soon apply to the FDA for emergency use authorization of its oral therapeutic, molnupiravir.

Professor Sanghee Kim's team possesses a synthetic research platform and compound library based on natural product-derived substance derivatives. Through this, they have discovered and patented a lead oral therapeutic candidate that shows effective antiviral efficacy against RNA viruses, including the pathogen of COVID-19, the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This candidate compound exhibits pharmacological activity 631 times stronger than remdesivir, and its selectivity index, indicating effectiveness and safety, has been experimentally confirmed to be 6.7 times higher than that of remdesivir. Additionally, the fact that it is an orally administered therapeutic is also advantageous.

Gangstem Biotech plans to officially commence the development of an oral COVID-19 therapeutic using domestic proprietary technology through the optimization process of the existing lead compound based on its clinical execution capabilities and the low-molecular-weight compound development capabilities of the Seoul National University College of Pharmacy research team.

Jongcheon Na, CEO of Gangstem Biotech, said, "Along with the development of a severe COVID-19 cell therapy utilizing the cytokine storm control ability of stem cells, by simultaneously securing antiviral therapeutic technology, we ultimately expect to establish treatment technology that can effectively respond to new infectious diseases such as COVID-19."