NewG Lab Begins Patient Administration of COVID-19 Treatment... Phase 2 Clinical Trial in Full Swing

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] NewG Lab announced on the 29th that Professor Bae In-gyu's team at Gyeongsang National University began administering the drug Nafamostat to clinical patients at Seoul Medical Center starting from the 27th. Nafamostat is a candidate drug for the treatment of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

This clinical trial is being conducted as part of the Ministry of Science and ICT's R&D project, the 'National Life Safety Emergency Response Research Project.' Professor Bae In-gyu's team from the Department of Infectious Diseases at Gyeongsang National University Hospital is in charge of overall responsibility, while NewG Lab and CNR Research are jointly responsible for detailed tasks as collaborative research companies.

Professor Bae's team had already received approval for Phase 2 clinical trials from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on April 17, and after completing the IRB (Institutional Review Board) process at participating hospitals, they have been preparing for clinical drug administration.

Han Shin-young, director of NewG Lab, stated, “Drug administration to patients is scheduled to begin in earnest from this week, and it will be possible to predict trends in therapeutic effects within about one month from the time of administration.” He added, “Development of an oral tablet form of Nafamostat, an oral COVID-19 treatment, will also proceed rapidly.” NewG Lab plans to differentiate itself from other treatments by developing an oral therapeutic with high convenience of administration and marketability.

Yoon Byung-in, executive director of CNR Research, a collaborative research company, said, “Even if COVID-19 vaccines are developed, treatments are still necessary,” and added, “Developing treatments is a national priority, and we will devote all efforts to the clinical trials.”

Meanwhile, as Nafamostat has emerged as a prominent candidate for COVID-19 treatment, Ono Pharmaceutical and others in Japan are conducting clinical trials, and various countries overseas, including the United States, are actively conducting efficacy studies and clinical experiments. Amid the rapid development race for COVID-19 treatments domestically and internationally, with the commencement of clinical patient administration of Nafamostat in Korea, the Gyeongsang National University-NewG Lab team is poised to take a leading step forward in treatment development.

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