[Special Stock] BL's Value of All COVID-19 Variant Treatment Drugs Rises... US BA.5 Official Count 7 Times Emergency

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] BL is showing strong performance. In the US, as the Omicron subvariant 'BA.5' has become the dominant strain, estimates suggest that the actual number of new COVID-19 cases is seven times higher than the official count, which appears to have influenced the stock price. The mechanism of the COVID-19 therapeutic drug (BLS-H01) being developed by BL is known to be effective regardless of virus type or mutation.

As of 10:21 AM on the 12th, BL is trading at 7,070 KRW, up 8.77% from the previous day.

According to major foreign media, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) under the University of Washington School of Medicine estimated that the actual number of new COVID-19 cases in the US during the first week of July is about seven times the official figure.

Earlier, BL received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval last month from clinical trial institutions to administer the COVID-19 therapeutic ‘BLS-H01’ to patients. Following this IRB approval, BL plans to administer ‘BLS-H01’ alongside standard treatments such as Paxlovid or Remdesivir to observe its effects on preventing and treating the worsening of moderate COVID-19 cases to severe or critical conditions.

BL is also expanding the indication of BLS-H01, currently in Phase 2 clinical trials, as a broad-spectrum pneumonia treatment. BLS-H01, developed by BL and approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) for Phase 2 clinical trials in March, is an immune-modulating therapeutic based on gamma-PGA. Clinical trials are underway to confirm its efficacy in preventing and treating pneumonia caused by coronavirus infection.

The key component, gamma-PGA, acts on immune receptors distributed on human epithelial cells, promoting the expression of dendritic cells essential for activating NK cells and immune T cells. This pharmacological mechanism enables NK and T cells to rapidly eliminate virus-infected lung cells. The mechanism of BLS-H01 is effective regardless of virus type or mutation, and its efficacy against influenza and SARS viruses has been published in scientific papers.

The company also stated that efficacy was confirmed in a COVID-19 virus infection animal model jointly conducted last year with the National Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (KMPC) under the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Based on these research results, BL is accelerating the development of a broad-spectrum pneumonia therapeutic alongside the COVID-19 treatment. The goal is to develop a drug that fundamentally treats pneumonia, moving beyond symptomatic treatment aimed only at symptom improvement without effective therapeutics.

The government has required patients to bear part of the medical expenses for hospital and clinic visits related to COVID-19 confirmed cases. On the 24th of last month, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that, according to the 'COVID-19 Isolation-related Financial Support System Reform Plan' discussed at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, confirmed patients will bear part of outpatient medical expenses.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters explained, "The partial burden of outpatient medical expenses by confirmed patients is a financial support reform measure for sustainable infectious disease response in preparation for a resurgence," and added, "We ask for the public’s understanding and cooperation."