INCHEON, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Celltrion Group announced today it has submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to conduct a global Phase III clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of an inhaled COVID-19 antibody cocktail therapy for patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms of COVID-19; the trial is expected to enrol 2,200 patients globally.

The inhaled COVID-19 antibody cocktail is a combination of monoclonal antibodies with regdanvimab (CT-P59) and CT-P63 and has been developed to target newly emerging mutations of SARS-CoV-2, including the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529). The global Phase III clinical trial proposed in the IND is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy profile of the inhaled COVID-19 antibody cocktail.

The muco-trapping antibody platform used for the inhaled COVID-19 antibody cocktail directly traps the virus in airway mucus, preventing the local spread of the infection, and quickly eliminates the virus from the lungs through the body's natural ability to clear mucus.

“We have accelerated development of our inhaled COVID-19 antibody cocktail therapy, leveraging our antibody platform to address the ongoing challenges of the pandemic” said Dr. HoUng Kim, Ph.D., Head of Medical and Marketing Division at Celltrion Healthcare. “Inhaled delivery substantially reduces the dose required to achieve a therapeutic effect compared to intravenous injections, thereby reducing the cost of treatment. An inhalable treatment can be self-administered in at-home settings, and at a scale not achievable using the conventional inpatient intravenous infusion treatments. We are working diligently to increase access to effective and safe monoclonal antibodies that are convenient and cost-effective. We look forward to sharing additional updates on the progress of patient enrolment and global clinical trials in the coming months.”

Celltrion & Inhalon: inhaled formulation of CT-P59

In August 2020, Celltrion and Inhalon Biopharma signed a Confidential Disclosure and Material Transfer Agreement for the research and development of an inhaled administration formulation of regdanvimab. The companies received approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) of Australia to conduct a Phase I trial in 24 healthy volunteers. The study showed the inhaled formulation of regdanvimab (CT-P59) achieved an endpoint of safety and tolerability, and no serious adverse events (SAEs) related to treatment were reported.

Celltrion’s monoclonal antibody: CT-P63

Celltrion enrolled 24 healthy volunteers in a global Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of CT-P63. The study showed CT-P63 to be safe and well tolerated, with no significant drug-related adverse events (AEs). CT-P63 showed strong neutralising activity against the Omicron variant based on structural analysis by X-ray crystallography and neutralisation data from pseudo-virus testing.

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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 regdanvimab (CT-P59)

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. In vitro and in vivo pre- clinical studies showed that CT-P59 strongly binds to SARS-CoV-2 RBD and significantly neutralises the wild type and mutant variants of concern. In in vivo models, CT-P59 effectively reduced the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 and inflammation in lung. Results from the global Phase I and Phase II/III clinical trials of CT-P59 demonstrated a promising safety, tolerability, antiviral effect and efficacy profile in patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms of COVID-19.1 The EC granted marketing authorisation for regdanvimab following positive opinion by the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in November 2021.

About CT-P63

CT-P63 is a monoclonal antibody targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding domain (RBD) as a treatment for COVID-19 infection. CT-P63 is currently being developed as a potential treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

About inhaled formulation

The inhaled formulation of the monoclonal antibody not only targets SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding domain (RBD) and elicits a neutralising antibody response, but it also has ‘trapping’ mechanism of action and thereby neutralises and traps in mucus with exceptional potency. The muco-trapping antibody platform directly traps the virus in airway mucus, preventing the local spread of the infection, and quickly eliminating the virus from the lungs through the body's natural ability to clear mucus. Inhaled formulation can be readily self-administered by patients through nebuliser, extend critical drug supplies to more patients by reducing the dosage needed, and does not place excessive demands on healthcare staff and infusion clinic space that intravenous (IV) drugs do.

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References

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1 Celltrion Data on file