Celltrion has presented the phase 2 clinical trial results for CT-P27, a comprehensive influenza antibody, at the 29th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases.

Professor Kim Woo-joo of Korea University Guro Hospital presents the phase 2b clinical trial for CT-P27 at the 29th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in the Netherlands, on Monday.

CT-P27 is a complex treatment consisting of two antibodies. The antibody of CT-P27 binds to the stem part of hemagglutinin, the surface protein of the virus, to prevent the virus genome from penetrating the cells. Since the axis of hemagglutinin does not mutate, the company expects CT-P27 will have a therapeutic effect on most influenza, regardless of the mutation of the virus.

Celltrion has reported that CT-P27 is effective against most influenza that affects humans -- H1, H2, H3, H5, H7, and H9 -- in various non-clinical and clinical trials conducted with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Chinese government's research institutes.

Following the confirmation of its efficacy and safety through the CT-P27 2a clinical trial in healthy subjects in the U.K. in 2014, the company has been conducting phase 2b clinical trials for CT-P27 in influenza A infected patients since October 2016

In the study, the company divided 220 patients with influenza A infection into three groups and treated them with either 90 mg/kg CT-P27, 45 mg/kg CT-P27 or a placebo. Afterward, Celltrion analyzed the efficacy and safety of the drug by collecting data from the influenza intensity and effect questionnaire, patient’s body temperature, and side effects.

As a result, the two groups treated with CT-P27 showed they had reduced the time of the symptom and fever relief time by about two days.

“The CT-P27 treatment group showed a statistically significant reduction in the time of the symptom and fever relief of influenza,” said Professor Kim Woo-joo while presenting the results at the conference. “If CT-P27 is marketed, I expect it will replace existing drugs such as Tamiflu and offer more treatment benefits to patients.”

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