Domestic Therapeutics and Vaccines Show 'Efficacy' in Non-Human Primates

Life Science Institute, Primate Infection Model Experiment Results
One Candidate Each for Therapeutic and Vaccine Shows Actual Efficacy
Potential Development into Therapeutic and Vaccine After Clinical Trials

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] The efficacy of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment and vaccine candidates developed by Korean companies has been confirmed through experiments using a primate infection model.

The Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) announced on the 18th that it confirmed the efficacy of one antibody therapeutic and one DNA vaccine in primate infection model experiments conducted with support from the Government-wide Support Committee for COVID-19 Therapeutics and Vaccine Development.

Efficacy of Domestic Therapeutics and Vaccines Confirmed in Primate Infection Model

The primate infection model experiment is conducted on primates, which are genetically most similar to humans, to verify whether COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines are actually effective. KRIBB developed the world's fourth COVID-19 primate infection model in June and has since been supporting primate infection model experiments for therapeutics and vaccines using a Biosafety Level 3 (ABSL-3) facility.

Among them, in the case of Company A's antibody therapeutic candidate, after administration to primates infected with COVID-19, no active COVID-19 virus was detected 24 hours post-administration.

In the case of Company B's DNA vaccine candidate administered to primates, even when infected with COVID-19, no fever symptoms appeared. Furthermore, from 48 hours onward, the COVID-19 virus was not found in the upper respiratory tract, which is the main infection route.

Potential for Development into Therapeutics or Vaccines Based on Clinical Results

Ryu Choong-min, head of KRIBB's Infectious Disease Research Center, said, "These two candidates showed actual therapeutic efficacy or infection prevention efficacy against COVID-19," adding, "Clinical trials conducted by each company must proceed, and depending on the results, they may be developed into actual therapeutics or vaccines."

Kim Jang-sung, president of KRIBB, stated, "In the COVID-19 situation, KRIBB is supporting preclinical animal models, including primate and hamster infection models, to protect public health and assist companies in developing therapeutics and vaccines," and added, "We plan to contribute to the early success of COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic development."

Meanwhile, last month KRIBB established a hamster model animal experiment platform and is promoting support for industry-academia-research through demand surveys. Hamsters possess the COVID-19 infection receptor protein (ACE2), and infection symptoms are observed mainly in organs where this receptor is highly expressed, such as the lungs and intestines. Compared to humans, only 4 out of 28 amino acid sequences differ, making hamsters a notable experimental animal for COVID-19 research.

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