[Special Stock] Amicogen Advances Development of COVID-19 Treatment Using Anthelmintics with Chinese Subsidiary

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Amicogen is showing strong performance. The news that its subsidiary, Amicogen (China) Biopharm, is starting the development of a treatment for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) using the animal drug Ivermectin appears to have influenced the stock price.

As of 10:35 AM on the 13th, Amicogen was trading at 24,400 KRW, up 13.75% (2,950 KRW) compared to the previous trading day.

An Amicogen official stated, "Ivermectin is used as an anthelmintic, but antiviral effects have also been discovered against AIDS, dengue fever, influenza, and Zika," adding, "Since Ivermectin is an FDA-approved drug in the United States, we judged that drug repositioning for COVID-19 treatment could be possible within a short period."

He continued, "Amicogen, Amicogen China, and Amicogen Pharma (formerly Us Bio Pharm) have decided to jointly begin the development of the treatment."

Amicogen China is responsible for securing the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) of Ivermectin and obtaining approval and registration within China, Amicogen Pharma will conduct domestic testing and submit approval applications, and Amicogen will provide technical support during the treatment development stage and handle commercialization.

Recently, Dr. Kylie Wagstaff's research team at Monash University in Australia announced experimental results showing that when cells infected with the COVID-19 virus were exposed to Ivermectin, all viral genetic material was eliminated within 48 hours. Ivermectin is currently produced and sold as an injectable for animals by Amicogen (China) Biopharm.

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