INCHEON, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Celltrion Group announced that the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved the company’s Clinical Trial Authorisation (CTA) application for a Phase I clinical trial with CT-P59, a COVID-19 antiviral antibody treatment candidate, in patients with mild symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The clinical trial is set to evaluate the safety, tolerability, efficacy, pharmacokinetics and immunogenicity of CT-P59.

Celltrion plans to conduct further global Phase II/III trials in patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 and anticipates results from these pivotal studies by the end of the year. Furthermore, a clinical trial investigating the use of CT-P59 as a preventative measure, by enrolling people in close contact with COVID-19 patients globally, is also planned and the topline data for this trial are anticipated in Q1 of 2021.

Celltrion will start the full-scale commercial production of CT-P59 in September this year and is securing sufficient manufacturing capacity to produce enough of the potential COVID-19 treatment for up to 5 million patients a year.

“This is a timely approval from the UK regulatory authority for the Phase I clinical trial with CT-P59 as the global pandemic continues to grow and there remains a significant need for a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19,” said Dr. Sang Joon Lee, Senior Executive Vice President of Celltrion. “We are rapidly advancing our COVID-19 programme with CT-P59, including a Phase I clinical trial in healthy volunteers in Korea. Furthermore, we are making efforts to ensure that if the clinical trial programme is successful we are able to scale up manufacturing appropriately.”

CT-P59 was identified as a potential treatment for COVID-19 through screening of antibody candidates and selecting those that showed the highest potency in neutralising the SARS-CoV-2 virus including the mutated G-variant strain (D614G variant). In pre-clinical data the treatment candidate demonstrated a 100-fold reduction in viral load of SARS-CoV-2, as well as a reduction in lung inflammation.¹

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Notes to Editors:

About Celltrion Healthcare
Celltrion Healthcare is committed to delivering innovative and affordable medications to promote patients’ access to advanced therapies. Its products are manufactured at state-of-the-art mammalian cell culture facilities, designed and built to comply with the US FDA cGMP and the EU GMP guidelines. Celltrion Healthcare endeavours to offer high-quality cost-effective solutions through an extensive global network that spans more than 110 different countries. For more information please visit: https://www.celltrionhealthcare.com/en-us

About COVID-19^2,3
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a family of viruses that lead to illnesses from the common cold to severe diseases. Novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the disease COVID-19, this new strain, discovered in 2019, is behind the ongoing pandemic outbreak.

The most common signs of COVID-19 include fever, dry cough and tiredness; however, people may also experience other symptoms including shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Most people infected with the virus will exhibit mild to moderate symptoms however older people, and those with existing underlying conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes are more likely to develop a more severe form of COVID-19.

Please find up to date information about the outbreak via the World Health Organization at https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1

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