Hyundai Bio Advances 'Researcher-Led Clinical Trials' for Long COVID

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Hyundai Bio announced on the 12th that it will conduct an investigator-initiated clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of CP-COV03, a broad-spectrum antiviral candidate substance, against Long COVID in collaboration with Professor Woo Heung-jung of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital.

This is the world's first clinical trial administering a COVID-19 antiviral drug to Long COVID patients. CP-COV03, whose main ingredient is niclosamide, is a new drug candidate developed as a broad-spectrum antiviral aimed at treating various viral infectious diseases in addition to COVID-19.

The investigator-initiated trial was proposed to Hyundai Bio by Professor Woo, who focused on CP-COV03's excellent broad-spectrum activity, effective blood concentration, and virus elimination mechanism. Hyundai Bio agreed to provide all necessary clinical supplies for the investigator-initiated trial.

In the investigator-initiated trial, Professor Woo plans to focus on representative symptoms of Long COVID such as cough, general weakness, and shortness of breath, based on CP-COV03's broad-spectrum properties.

Professor Woo introduced, "There are research results supporting the explanation that residual viruses in the body may be the cause of Long COVID, especially in the absence of clear treatments for Long COVID." He added, "I believe that administering antiviral drugs like CP-COV03 to Long COVID patients can yield meaningful clinical results."

He also added, "CP-COV03 has functions that reduce inflammation throughout the body and maintain bodily homeostasis through autophagy, which appears to be a positive mechanism for Long COVID."

Last month, Hyundai Bio resumed the clinical trial after receiving a recommendation from the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) to 'continue the trial' based on the results of the first round of the Phase 2 clinical trial of CP-COV03 for COVID-19. Since the trial resumed, patient enrollment surged, and as of today, the number of participants is approaching 100.