Aju Business Daily

 
SEOUL -- Crystal Genomics, a biopharmaceutical company in South Korea, will carry out clinical trials to see if its novel drug candidate, Ivaltinostat, is effective in treating acute pneumonia or fibrosis caused by a novel coronavirus.

Crystal Genomics has developed Ivalinostat for various indications such as liver cancer and fibrosis. The company claimed to have confirmed the anti-inflammatory effect of Ivaltinostat by administering it with Camostat to hamster models infected with COVID-19.

Camostat, a serine protease inhibitor, has been approved in Japan for the treatment of chronic pancreatitis and postoperative reflux esophagitis. Clinical trials are underway in South Korea to test the safety and efficacy of candidates for COVID-18 treatment that included camostat mesilate.

Crystal Genomics will carry out second-stage clinical trials in the U.S. and other countries to test the efficacy of Ivaltinostata as a sole COVID-19 treatment. In partnership with Parexel, a U.S.-based company, CrystalGenomics is in the process of obtaining approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the second phase of clinical trials.