S.Korea's Daewoong Pharmaceutical says anti-parasitic drug effective against coronavirus in animal tests

Daewoong Pharma

09/06/2020 08:56

SEOUL, June 9 (Reuters) - South Korea's Daewoong
Pharmaceutical  069620.KS  said its anti-parasitic drug
niclosamide had eliminated the novel coronavirus from animals'
lungs during testing.
    Drugmakers worldwide are rushing to develop treatments for
the illness caused by the new coronavirus, which has killed more
than 400,000 globally since it first emerged late last year in
China.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2DF1L8
    Daewoong said its experimental anti-viral drug completely
cleared up the disease in ferrets' lung tissues and inhibited
inflammation. The company plans to start human clinical trials
in July.
    Three other companies around the world are testing
niclosamide as a coronavirus treatment, but Daewoong is the only
one that offers the drug in a form that is not given orally, the
company official told Reuters.
    The company tested the drug on ferrets for around three
months.
    "Based on the positive outcome of the animal test, we plan
to complete human trials and get approval of the COVID-19
treatment drug by the end of this year," said Jeon Seng-ho, CEO
of Daewoong Pharma.
    There is no treatment for COVID-19 and human trials of
several other antiviral drugs have not shown conclusive
benefits.
    Shares in Daewoong Pharma jumped 48.2% in three trading days
after last week's announcement, as of Tuesday.
     

 (Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee;
Editing by Gerry Doyle)
 ((Sangmi.Cha@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5646; Reuters
Messaging: sangmi.cha.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))