| Seong-yong Seong, CEO of Chaperon, is giving a corporate briefing (IR) at the ’16th News 1 Bio Leaders Club’ held at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 23rd. 2022.6.23/News 1 © News1 Reporter Hwang Ki-seon |
On the 23rd, Chaperon, a biotech company developing new drugs, predicted that the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) treatment candidate ‘NuSepin®,’ under development, still has sufficient marketability, although Corona 19 has been stabilizing recently.
Seong-yong Seong, co-CEO of Chaperon Attended the ’16th Bio Leaders Club’ hosted by the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul and said, “There are concerns about the possibility of a phase 3 clinical trial as Corona 19 turns into an endemic.” The severity of the disease is still high, so I think commercialization is possible.”
Nucepin is an inflammatory complex inhibitor that treats pneumonia caused by COVID-19 and influenza virus. It is currently in phase 2b and 3 clinical trials, and has recently completed overseas phase 2 clinical trials.
In January, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety received approval for multinational phase 2b and 3 clinical trials of Nucepin, and in April, it was selected as a clinical support project for the COVID-19 treatment and vaccine new drug development project of the National New Drug Development Foundation (KDDF), and research funding for one year About 91 billion won was supported.
According to CEO Sung, although a vaccine and antiviral drug for COVID-19 have been released, there are still many high-risk groups with a high risk of hospitalization. In particular, given the ongoing mutation of COVID-19, an effective anti-inflammatory treatment is needed in the future. Considering the vaccine effect, assuming that 0.7% of those vaccinated and 2.8% of those who are not vaccinated are hospitalized, it is calculated that about 6 million people a year can be hospitalized for pneumonia caused by COVID-19.
In addition, Chaperone confirmed that Nucepine is effective not only for COVID-19 but also against pneumonia caused by influenza virus infection. In a recent preclinical study, the survival rate was improved as the level of cytokines and lung tissue damage in the lungs of the Nucepin-treated group decreased significantly.
According to Chaperon, about 2% of flu patients are hospitalized and treated for symptoms such as pneumonia. There are approximately 10 million people worldwide each year. In Korea, it is known that about 10,000 people are hospitalized with the flu every year, and between 2,000 and 3,000 people die.
In other words, there are about 16 million patients who can prescribe nucepin for COVID-19 and influenza pneumonia every year. Chaperon plans to launch Nucepine on the market between 2023 and 2025.
CEO Sung said, “If both influenza and COVID-19 become endemic, the market is expected to reach a size of 310 billion won. We plan to apply for conditional approval as soon as the ongoing phase 2b clinical trial ends.”
Meanwhile, Chaperon passed the preliminary examination for listing on the KOSDAQ in May. It is expected to file a securities declaration within the next month.
CEO Sung said, “If we finish preparing semi-annual report materials in June, we are in the process of filing a securities declaration in July, forecasting demand in July and August, and filing a listing in September.”
jjsung@news1.kr
