Shionogi and Ildong Team up to Co-Develop Oral COVID-19 Pill

Shionogi and Ildong Pharmaceutical have struck a deal to co-develop S-217622, an investigational oral COVID-19 treatment, the companies announced Wednesday. They will join a growing number of companies seeking to replicate the success of Merck’s and Pfizer’s oral COVID-19 pills, which are awaiting approval for local use.

Under the agreement, Ildong will conduct clinical trials of the oral candidate in South Korea, while Shionogi will test the pill in Japan and Singapore.

Ildong on the same day said South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has given the go-ahead to begin Phase 2 and 3 trials of the drug in the country. The company plans to enroll 200 patients with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 infection at Inha University Hospital.

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

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

Shionogi and Ildong are long-time collaborators. Ildong has previously signed multiple deals with Shionogi to obtain rights to produce the latter’s Flumarin and Pirespa.

S-217622

S-217622 is a pill that has to be taken once daily for five days. In studies conducted by Shionogi, S-217622 was effective in inhibiting viral proliferation across COVID-19 variants, including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. The candidate was also proven to be safe and tolerable.

The candidate works by inhibiting 3CL protease, the main protease in coronaviruses and key to viral replication. This makes it similar to Pfizer’s oral pill Paxlovid (ritonavir), which is also a 3CL protease.

Oral COVID-19 pills could be a game-changer in the fight against COVID-19 as they can be used to cut transmission rates by minimizing healthcare center visits. Merck and Pfizer have already touted encouraging results for their respective COVID-19 antivirals, with Merck’s molnupiravir already garnering emergency use approval in the UK.

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Joy Lin

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