STCube "Preclinical Research and Development of Antiviral Therapeutics for COVID-19 and Others"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] STCube announced on the 17th that it has filed an international patent application for the antiviral therapeutic effects of its self-developed immune checkpoint inhibitor substance, the ‘STT-003’ antibody, and has started preclinical research and development jointly with immunology and virus researchers in the United States.

The ‘STT-003’ antibody, which STCube is advancing clinical trials for as an immune oncology drug, was found during its development process to be involved in innate immunity, leading to simultaneous research related to viral infectious diseases.

Immune checkpoint molecules that regulate immune responses, such as ‘PD-1’, ‘CTLA-4’, and the ‘STT-003’ antibody, play important roles not only in cancer diseases but also in immune responses to viral infectious diseases. When a virus infects, the virus’s immune checkpoint molecules begin to be expressed, suppressing the body’s immune function; prescribing immune checkpoint inhibitors enables immune cells within the body to attack the virus.

STCube has focused on the fact that its self-developed immune checkpoint inhibitor ‘STT-003’ antibody has superior immune cell activation functions compared to existing immune checkpoint inhibitors like ‘PD-1’ and ‘CTLA-4’ antibodies, and views the ‘STT-003’ antibody as potentially usable as an antiviral therapeutic agent.

The ‘STT-003’ antibody has been confirmed to have an excellent effect in promoting immune responses by increasing the secretion of cytokines such as interferon-gamma (Interferon-γ) and interleukin-2 (IL-2), which are signaling molecules that control and stimulate immune cells.

A company official stated, “The new drug substance ‘STT-003’ antibody is expected to overcome chronic viral infection states through activation of the immune system and maximize antiviral therapeutic effects,” and added, “We will rapidly proceed with clinical research preparations so that the ‘STT-003’ antibody can be used as an antiviral therapeutic agent for various viruses, including COVID-19.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.