JW Pharmaceutical(35,050 +4.01%)‘CWP291’ confirmed the antiviral effect in an animal test for a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). .
JW Pharmaceutical announced on the 30th that it has signed a contract with the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology to transfer the rights to own and use the results of the study of the CWP291 infected animal model. According to the contract, JW Pharmaceutical will begin the follow-up development work based on the research results of CWP291 for corona 19 infected hamsters being conducted by the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology.
As a result of the recently completed efficacy evaluation of CWP291 in Corona 19-infected Sirian hamsters, CWP291 showed an improvement in lung lesions that was about twice (41.3-48.9%) higher than that of 24.8% of the control remdesivir even when administered at a low dose. In addition, when co-administration with remdesivir, lung lesions were improved close to 90%. CWP291 dose-dependent combination effect of remdesivir is being tested.
It is explained that the excellent reduction effect of CWP291 was also confirmed in the amount of virus remaining in the lung tissue (PCR). On the 5th day after virus infection, remdesivir decreased by 53% and CWP291 by up to 88% compared to the corona19 infected group. In the hamster model, the time when the amount of virus increases the most is on the 5th day after infection, after which it recovers naturally. This is believed to be the result obtained by suppressing the hypothetical corona 19 infection and’GRP78′ related to the replication expression of CWP291.
CWP291 is an innovative drug (First-in-Class) candidate that inhibits the signaling pathway of’Wnt·β-catenin’, which is involved in cancer cell growth and cancer stem cells. JW Pharmaceutical has reviewed the potential of CWP291 as a treatment for Corona 19 from various angles based on the GRP78 binding mechanism and the safety margin of CWP291 identified in the existing Phase 1 clinical trial of a target anticancer drug.
According to the Journal of Infection, an international academic journal published in March and September, blocking the binding of the spike protein (projection) rising on the surface of Corona 19 to the protein GRP78 in the human body inhibits virus entry and replication. can do. This suggests the potential potential of GRP78 as a therapeutic target for COVID-19 infection. In addition, many studies have reported that GRP78 is a host factor for other single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses, such as MERS dengue Zika Japanese encephalitis.
JW Pharmaceutical has confirmed that the antifibrotic effect is equal to or higher than that of the existing drugs in the evaluation of the efficacy of the animal model of CWP291 with pulmonary fibrosis ended early this year as an indication. It is expected to help treat COVID-19-related lung diseases. Based on this result, JW Pharmaceuticals applied for a patent as a treatment for pulmonary fibrosis in June.
JW Pharmaceutical plans to begin a phase 2 clinical trial for patients with Corona 19 in the future.
“CWP291 has a mechanism that directly inhibits GRP78, which is known as a host factor for various RNA viruses including Corona 19,” said Lee Seong-yeol, CEO of JW Choongwae Pharmaceutical. As such, we will promote clinical trials, technology exports, and joint research.”
Reporter Minsoo Han [email protected]
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