Celltrion accelerates development of COVID-19 treatment
SEOUL, March 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. is accelerating the development of treatment for the novel coronavirus as part of its efforts to address the global pandemic, company officials said Monday.
The company was earlier selected as a preferred developer for a monoclonal antibody project to treat and prevent COVID-19 by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Currently, there is no specific treatment for the new strain of virus.
Celltrion said that it plans to start clinical trials on humans to come up with the treatment for the novel coronavirus within the next six months.
The company also said it aims to develop a diagnostic kit for the virus that can decrease the test time to between 15 and 20 minutes and commercialize it within the next three months.
On Monday, shares of Celltrion spiked 14.75 percent to 175,000 won (US$138). The country's key stock index, the KOSPI, lost 5.34 percent to close at 1,482.46 points.
The country on Monday reported its lowest daily figure for new coronavirus infections since late last month, as the nation ramped up social distancing rules to slow the virus' spread.
The 64 new cases, which were detected Sunday, brought the nation's total infections to 8,961, according to the KCDC.
khj@yna.co.kr
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