Hyundai Bio Advances Clinical Trial of 'CP-COV03' for Post-COVID-19 Sequelae Researchers

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Hyundai Bio announced on the 12th that it will conduct an investigator-initiated clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of the broad-spectrum antiviral candidate substance 'CP-COV03' against 'Long COVID (post-COVID sequelae)' in collaboration with Professor Woo Heung-jung of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital.

This is the world's first clinical trial administering an oral antiviral drug for COVID-19 to Long COVID patients. CP-COV03, whose main ingredient is niclosamide, is a new drug candidate aimed at treating various viral infectious diseases in addition to COVID-19.

The investigator-initiated clinical trial was proposed to Hyundai Bio by Professor Woo, who focused on CP-COV03's excellent broad-spectrum properties, effective blood concentration, and virus elimination mechanism. Hyundai Bio will provide all necessary clinical trial drugs and materials for the investigator-initiated trial.

Professor Woo Heung-jung, Department of Infectious Diseases, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital.

In the investigator-initiated trial, Professor Woo plans to focus on representative symptoms of Long COVID such as cough and general weakness, based on CP-COV03's broad-spectrum properties. Professor Woo stated, "There are research results supporting the explanation that residual viruses in the body may be the cause of Long COVID, especially since there is no clear treatment for Long COVID. I believe that administering antiviral agents like CP-COV03 to Long COVID patients can yield meaningful clinical results."

Long COVID, a long-term sequela of COVID-19, is presumed to be caused by residual COVID-19 virus in the body, and is known to have more than 100 symptoms. Researchers at Harvard Medical School in the United States announced research findings that spike proteins of the COVID-19 virus were detected in the blood of 60% of Long COVID patients up to 12 months after infection. It is estimated that 10-30% of all COVID-19 confirmed cases experience Long COVID, but there is currently no adequate treatment.

Last month, Hyundai Bio resumed clinical trials after receiving a recommendation from the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) to 'continue the trial' based on the results of the first round of the Phase 2 clinical trial of CP-COV03 for COVID-19.

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