Hyundai Bio "COVID-19 Treatment, 3-Day Dosage Confirmed to Cure Omicron in Phase 2 Clinical Trial"

CP-COV03 Maintains IC100 in Lungs for 24 Hours
Drug Concentration in Lung Tissue at Least 1.7 Times Higher Than in Blood
"Best Drug to Prevent Lung Damage" Proven in Nature Published Paper

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Experimental results have been released for the first time showing that a niclosamide-based improved drug candidate, considered a promising COVID-19 treatment, exerts concentrated efficacy in lung tissue.

Hyundai Bio, a specialist in drug delivery systems (DDS), announced on the 3rd that in an animal experiment commissioned to the nonclinical specialized institution Notus, after administering CP-COV03 (active ingredient niclosamide), an oral antiviral for COVID-19, to test subjects, it was confirmed that the drug concentration in lung tissue was maintained at least 1.7 times higher than in the blood.

In the experiment, after administering CP-COV03 at 10 mg/kg to the test subjects, drug concentration was measured over 24 hours, showing that the drug concentration in lung tissue remained at least 1.74 times higher than the blood concentration.

The experimental results are the first to prove that the blood effective drug concentration (IC100) that suppresses 100% of the replication of COVID-19 variant viruses such as Omicron can be maintained for 24 hours in lung tissue, raising expectations that CP-COV03 could become a ‘customized’ antiviral for highly mutated COVID-19 variants.

Hyundai Bio developed CP-COV03, a niclosamide-based host-targeting antiviral candidate, using drug delivery technology, and through animal experiments, demonstrated that CP-COV03 maintains IC100 concentration in the blood for 24 hours.

Hyundai Bio plans to verify in a Phase 2 clinical trial, which currently considers a 5-day administration period, whether a complete cure is possible with only 3 days of administration. In a recent experiment conducted by the National Institute of Health under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, it was confirmed that CP-COV03 maintains IC50 concentration against Omicron at only one-quarter of the blood drug concentration for COVID-19, indicating that for Omicron, the same amount of CP-COV03 administration can shorten the treatment period compared to COVID-19.

Hyundai Bio explained that the experimental results demonstrate that CP-COV03 can be a more effective treatment for COVID-19 variants such as Omicron and Delta than any existing antiviral, given that the COVID-19 virus primarily attacks lung tissue in the human body. The lung tissue damage experienced by severe patients is a common phenomenon regardless of infection by various variants including COVID-19, Omicron, and Delta, making the emergence of treatments that exert concentrated efficacy in lung tissue urgent.

A Hyundai Bio official said, "Since COVID-19 and its variants primarily attack lung tissue among various organs in the human body, a treatment that exerts concentrated efficacy in the lungs is needed above all," adding, "The experimental results show that CP-COV03 can be an antiviral that effectively targets COVID-19 regardless of variants."

It has been revealed through various domestic and international experiments that while COVID-19 infection initially causes fever and headache, in severe cases the virus causes concentrated damage to lung tissue.

The world-renowned academic journal Nature introduced a paper and experimental results from European researchers including King's College London Cardiovascular Institute in April last year, showing that niclosamide blocks abnormal cell fusion in alveolar cells of severe COVID-19 patients. Among 3,825 existing drugs in the US and Europe, niclosamide was selected as the best drug for suppressing lung damage caused by COVID-19.

According to the European researchers’ paper at that time, abnormal cell fusion in alveolar cells was found in over 90% of deaths caused by COVID-19 infection, proving that COVID-19 attacks lung tissue intensively.

Hyundai Bio completed Phase 1 clinical trials of CP-COV03, developed as a host-targeting antiviral targeting virus host cells, and on the 21st of last month submitted a Phase 2 clinical trial plan to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

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