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Celltrion expects COVID-19 treatment candidate to show efficacy against omicron

The corporate logo of Celltrion Inc. (Yonhap)
The corporate logo of Celltrion Inc. (Yonhap)

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. on Thursday anticipated its antibody treatment against COVID-19 under development would show efficacy against the omicron variant.

Celltrion said that CT-P63 has maintained strong neutralizing ability against the omicron variant during pseudo-virus testing. The candidate treatment is currently under clinical trials.

The announcement comes after local health authorities announced Wednesday they will halt using Celltiron's COVID-19 treatment, Rekirona.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Rekirona has less efficacy against omicron, which has became the dominant strain in the country.

"Since Feb. 18, a new supply of Rekirona has been halted," the KDCA said in a press release, adding that leftover bottles will be used until the end of this month for COVID-19 patients infected with the delta variant.

In February 2021, Rekirona won a conditional approval from South Korea's drug safety agency, becoming the first locally made treatment for COVID-19.

CT-P63 is a monoclonal antibody targeting the spike receptor binding domain as a treatment for COVID-19 infection.

Celltrion also anticipates a cocktail therapy using CT-P63 in combination with Rekirona will be effective against emerging mutants.

The company also submitted an application for a phase three clinical trial of its cocktail therapy in three countries. The trial will enroll 2,200 participants. (Yonhap)

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