COVID-19 No Escape... All-Out Effort for Vaccine and Treatment Development

On the 14th, one day before the 21st National Assembly election, officials are disinfecting after completing the installation of the polling station at the gymnasium of Cheongun Elementary School, the first polling station in Cheongunhyoja-dong, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] An all-out effort is underway to develop vaccines and therapeutics to combat the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Animal experiments are being conducted to apply the vaccine system that showed efficacy against the MERS coronavirus (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) to COVID-19, and a clinical trial roadmap has also been proposed to utilize existing drugs with excellent therapeutic effects against COVID-19 as treatments. The government has announced that antibody drugs and plasma therapies are under development, and there is a cautious forecast that results from these efforts could be seen as early as next year.

Preventing COVID-19 with 'Vaccine System'... Animal Experiments Underway

Geum Gyochang, Director of the KIST Brain Medicine Research Group (right), and Dr. Bang Eunkyung are discussing the efficacy of a zinc chelate-based RNA stabilizer, a component of the viral vaccine platform.

On the 14th, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology announced that a research team composed of Geum Gyochang, head of the Brain Medical Research Group, and Professor Nam Jaehwan of Catholic University is developing a vaccine system that can prevent COVID-19. The team is working to combat COVID-19 using a zinc metal-based vaccine system that was effective against MERS.

The vaccine system consists of a single combination of RNA immune adjuvant, compounds for RNA stabilization, and the COVID-19 spike protein. Protein-based vaccines have limitations in inducing immune activity, but this system compensates by combining multiple substances into one. The results targeting MERS with this system are encouraging. It showed 100% protective efficacy against a lethal dose of the virus. Experiments on macaque monkeys, a primate species, also suppressed MERS.

Currently, the research team is conducting animal experiments to apply this vaccine system to the COVID-19 virus. Geum Gyochang said, "Because vaccine development for COVID-19 is extremely urgent, we are conducting experiments on laboratory mice," adding, "In the second half of the year, we will conduct experiments on primates, and once completed, we will obtain government approval to proceed to clinical trials."

Drug Repurposing -> Therapeutic Development

The Korea Pasteur Institute, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, and Daewoong Therapeutics are intensively working on repurposing anthelmintic drug components as therapeutics. The drug used as a treatment is 'Niclosamide,' which the Korea Pasteur Institute judged to be the most effective against COVID-19 based on drug repurposing results.

The Korea Pasteur Institute stated that Niclosamide has about 40 times higher therapeutic efficacy than the Ebola treatment Remdesivir. Remdesivir is a drug that the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology judged to have the highest antiviral activity against COVID-19. The institute also judged that Niclosamide showed 26 times higher antiviral activity than chloroquine, a malaria treatment drug considered highly effective against COVID-19 in the United States.

However, Niclosamide is an anthelmintic component that does not remain in the human body. In other words, its blood concentration is low, so efforts are needed to improve this. Daewoong Therapeutics, a subsidiary of the Daewoong Group, developed a new formulation called DWRX2003 last year that maintains the blood concentration of Niclosamide, and plans to study the use of this substance for COVID-19 in the future.

The Korea Pasteur Institute and Daewoong plan to complete animal experiments using laboratory mice this month and begin efficacy tests on primates next month. They also plan to apply for clinical trial approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in July. The Korea Pasteur Institute explained, "We plan to conduct experiments using laboratory mice," and "We will assist Daewoong in conducting primate tests and clinical trials."

Government: COVID-19 Vaccine and Therapeutic Development Expected Next Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Antibody drugs and plasma therapies using the blood of confirmed patients are also under development.

Yoon Taeho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters' quarantine team, said at a regular briefing held the day before, "Antibody drugs aim to enter clinical trials within this year and could be released as early as next year," adding, "Plasma therapy is also being jointly researched with domestic companies, and with a large amount of blood secured, the goal is to develop treatments within 2 to 3 months."

For antibody drugs, the National Institute of Health and Celltrion are intensifying research. Celltrion recently selected the final antibody (immune substance that neutralizes pathogens) to be used in COVID-19 therapeutics. Plasma therapy is also being jointly researched with domestic companies.

The government expects the vaccine development target timeline to be as early as the second half of next year. Yoon said, "We are currently promoting vaccine research on various platforms through public-private cooperation and international collaborative research."

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