[Special Stock] Ildong Pharmaceutical Expected Effective Against All COVID Variants Including BA.5... Positive Factor for Japan's Emergency Approval

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Ildong Pharmaceutical is showing strength. The expectation that the oral COVID-19 treatment drug being developed by Ildong Pharmaceutical and Shionogi Pharmaceutical will also be effective against the Omicron subvariant 'BA.5', which is currently leading the global COVID-19 outbreak, appears to be influencing the stock price.

As of 1:14 PM on the 15th, Ildong Pharmaceutical is trading at 48,650 KRW, up 16.95% from the previous day.

Shionogi Pharmaceutical announced on its website, "The oral antiviral drug for COVID-19 treatment under development, Zokova (S-217622), has shown high antiviral activity against the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, similar to previously detected variants, as confirmed in preclinical trials."

Shionogi added, "As soon as clinical isolates become available, we will continuously evaluate the efficacy of S-217622 against newly emerging mutant strains and provide information that can help public health."

From the early stages of development, expectations were high that S-217622 would be effective against all COVID-19 variants due to its mechanism of action. It inhibits the '3CL-protease', a protein-degrading enzyme unique to the COVID-19 virus, preventing the production of proteins necessary for viral replication. This mechanism is the same as Pfizer's oral treatment Paxlovid.

Mutations in COVID-19 occurred in the virus's surface spike protein. The enzyme 3CL-protease was unaffected by mutations. Because the mechanism is independent of mutations, theoretically, it can be effective against all existing variants.

At the Japanese subcommittee meeting scheduled for the 20th, Zokova will be evaluated considering its efficacy and safety as well as the current COVID-19 situation. It is expected that whether Zokova is effective against variants will also be included as an evaluation factor. The preclinical data showing effectiveness against variants is likely to be a positive factor in the evaluation.

Although a final decision may be made at the meeting on the 20th, since this would be Japan's first emergency use approval, the process may be cautious. The decision could be made later than the 20th.

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