CelltrionHealthcare

In a world learning to live with the Covid-19 virus, attention is shifting from vaccination towards biological therapeutics that have the potential to treat a range of chronic conditions.

As clinicians and health systems continue their battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, research laboratories have remained on the offensive, repurposing existing drugs and developing new therapeutics at unprecedented speed to combat the virus while improving survival rates.

Central to this research and development drive are monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), laboratorymade proteins that copy the immune system’s ability to fight an invading virus by blocking its entry into cells, thus limiting the virus’s progress. In turn, this speeds up patient recovery time, reducing the length of hospitalisation and easing the burden on healthcare systems.

Despite being expensive to develop and complex to trial, therapeutics based on mAbs have been licensed at pace thanks to work on other deadly coronaviruses such as MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). One company at the forefront of this research is Celltrion, which started out as a small biotech start-up in South Korea but has since invested significantly in research and development (R&D) as well as production facilities, becoming a leading global biopharmaceutical enterprise.

"Therapeutics based on mAbs have been licensed at pace thanks to work on other deadly coronaviruses…
One company at the forefront of this research is Celltrion."

“As a company, we felt well-placed to develop a therapeutic option against Covid-19 as we have experience in developing therapeutics for similar viruses such as MERS, as well as a multi-antibody drug for influenza,” says Kwon Ki-sung, Head of R&D at Celltrion.

“As soon as the Covid-19 outbreak began, we implemented an emergency preparedness plan which leveraged this experience and our unique antibody discovery, development and manufacturing processes to identify a potential treatment.”

Having won approval for its pioneering mAb treatment from the European Commission, the company is now working on a pipeline of next-generation biopharmaceutical products. It hopes to launch at least one biosimilar product – a copy of a biologic drug derived from living organisms – every year, reaching a total number of 18 over the next decade.

Celltrion’s ambition reflects its faith in the continuing expansion of the biopharmaceutical industry post Covid-19. The global pharmaceutical market is expected to be worth $535bn by 2027, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 7.3 per cent, according to market research firm Acumen Research and Consulting, due in part to R&D in mAbs, which can be used to treat cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, among other chronic conditions.

While the underlying causes sustaining long-term growth – such as an ageing population and a surge in the rate of diseases including cancer – still hold true, the sector’s investment in “constant innovations supported by technologies”, according to Acumen Research and Consulting, is playing a part in this trend.

Celltrion aims to develop a next generation messenger RNA vaccine platform that the company hopes can be applied to potential coronavirus variants. It plans to use its cutting edge mRNA platform technology to develop not only a Covid-19 vaccine effective against variants but also treatments for other diseases such as cancer, Lee Soo-young, Head of New Drug Research Division at Celltrion, explains. “Messenger RNA or mRNA vaccines teach our cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response inside our bodies without the risk of insertional mutagenesis [creating DNA mutations],” says Lee Soo-young.

"Celltrion aims to develop a next generation messenger RNA vaccine platform that the company hopes can be
applied to potential coronavirus variants."

“Like all vaccines, mRNA vaccines benefit people by giving them protection against diseases like Covid-19 without risking the serious consequences of getting sick. Moreover, mRNA can be produced in a cell-free environment that allows rapid and cost-effective manufacturing,” adds Lee Soo-young.

Innovations such as these are bringing experts together and giving cause for hope when it comes to one of the world’s most intractable problems: taming the pandemic and finding ways to live with a newly endemic disease.

Biotech and pharma companies including Celltrion are working to develop therapeutics that people could take orally as pills, via nasal sprays or inhalers, for example, to help curb the rate of infection and reduce the number of patients seeking in-hospital care.

“In a post-Covid-19 world, healthcare workers are committed to helping patients and making the necessary adjustments to deliver the highest level of care available while exploring the use of innovations required to meet new challenges,” concludes Lee Soo-young.

This article was originally published in FT.com on December 14, 2021.

Disclaimer : This content was paid for by Celltrion Healthcare and produced in partnership with the Financial Times Commercial department.