Ildong Pharmaceutical and Shionogi codeveloping Covid pill

Yun Woong-sup, right, CEO of Ildong Pharmaceutical, and Isao Teshirogi, CEO of Shionogi, pose for a photo after signing an agreement online to codevelop an oral Covid-19 treatment. [ILDONG PHARMACEUTICAL]

Ildong Pharmaceutical signed an agreement with Osaka's Shionogi to codevelop S-217622, an oral Covid-19 treatment candidate.

Under the agreement, Ildong Pharmaceutical will conduct clinical trials of the candidate in Korea, while Shionogi will simultaneously conduct trials in Japan and Singapore.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Wednesday gave Ildong Pharmaceutical permission to start Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials in Korea. The trials will involve at least 200 patients with light and moderate symptoms to test safety and efficacy.

The two companies aim to obtain an emergency use approval in Korea in first half of 2022.

S-217622 is a pill patients take once a day for five days. Ildong Pharmaceutical said the preclinical trials of the candidate produced meaningful results demonstrating safety, tolerability and efficacy against coronavirus variants like Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta.

“The joint development of S-217622 is not just a business for the two companies’ profits, but a social duty for pharmaceutical companies,” Yun Woong-sup, CEO of Ildong Pharmaceutical, said. “The two will closely cooperate in order to successfully develop the oral treatment.”

The two companies have been maintaining close cooperation for about 40 years. Ildong signed multiple deals with Shionogi to obtain rights to produce the Japanese company’s drugs, like Flumarin, an oxacephem antibiotic, and Pirespa, a treatment for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]