[Market Focus] Chaperon Surges on COVID-19 Resurgence in Asia... NuSepin Treatment in Spotlight

Chaperon is showing strong performance. This is interpreted as being influenced by reports that COVID-19 is spreading again in Asian countries such as Hong Kong and Taiwan. Chaperon possesses NuSepin, a COVID-19 treatment.

As of 9:50 a.m. on May 27, Chaperon was trading at 3,295 won, up 290 won (9.65%) from the previous trading day.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), from April 7 to May 4, a total of 23,164 COVID-19 cases were reported in 82 countries. This represents a decrease compared to the previous week.

However, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is rapidly increasing in Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. In Hong Kong, which has seen an upward trend since February, 977 COVID-19 cases were reported from May 11 to 17. Although this is a slight decrease compared to 1,042 cases in the previous week, the positivity rate has reached its highest level in a year. In Taiwan, the number of outpatient and emergency room visits due to COVID-19 from May 11 to 17 was tallied at 19,097, which is a 91.3% increase compared to the previous week. In Singapore, the number of cases from April 27 to May 3 was 11,000, representing a 27.9% increase compared to the previous week.

Chaperon successfully completed a multinational Phase 2b clinical trial of the COVID-19 treatment NuSepin in 2023. The trial was conducted over approximately six months in five countries, including Bulgaria and Serbia, targeting 174 patients with severe or worse COVID-19 pneumonia. The company confirmed statistically significant primary efficacy endpoints and demonstrated the safety of the treatment.

In its first quarter report, Chaperon stated that, based on clinical results from a total of five countries in Europe and Asia, it is reviewing various plans for NuSepin, including a Phase 3 trial, technology transfer to domestic or international pharmaceutical companies followed by joint clinical trials, and pursuing global product approval.