ZenenCell Accelerates Phase 2 and 3 Clinical Trials of Oral COVID-19 Treatment 'ES16001'

Administration to Begin This Month... Conducted at Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital and 2 Other Locations

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] 'ES16001,' an oral COVID-19 treatment candidate developed by Genencell, is about to enter full-scale clinical trials.

Genencell announced on the 10th that it is conducting final preparations to recruit patients at three hospitals, including Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital, to proceed with domestic Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of ES16001, which recently passed the Central Institutional Review Board (Central IRB) review.

The administration is expected to begin as early as this month. The company expects to complete the trials ahead of the initial schedule due to the recent increase in COVID-19 patients.

ES16001 is a new drug candidate based on a novel material extracted from the leaves of the native Korean plant, Dambalsu. Molecular binding prediction experiments have shown its effectiveness against the Omicron variant virus. The main components, Geraniin and Pentagalloyl Glucose (PGG), have been confirmed to inhibit the binding of the COVID-19 causative virus (SARS-CoV2) RBD (receptor-binding domain) to the host cell's ACE2 receptor.

Genencell's COVID-19 treatment clinical trials are being conducted as multinational studies in South Korea and India. The company has also applied for clinical trial approval from the Indian regulatory authority and is preparing IRB reviews at nine hospitals.

A Genencell representative stated, “The candidate ES16001 has the advantage of multi-target therapy, enabling it to respond to variant viruses. It has fewer side effects and a lower price compared to overseas treatments, making it sufficiently competitive. Currently, there is high interest, with pre-purchase and technology transfer requests coming from Europe and Southeast Asian countries.”

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