Hyundai Bioscience and NIAID jointly develop avian influenza treatment

Hyundai Bioscience (CEO Sangki Oh) announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the United States has approved animal efficacy testing for Xafty’s joint development of a treatment for highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1, bird flu).

Since Zefty has already completed Phase 1 clinical trials for a COVID-19 treatment in Korea, if efficacy is proven in this NIAID animal test, Phase 1 clinical trials can be skipped and Phase 2 clinical trials can be conducted directly. In this case, the treatment development period will be drastically shortened, and a rapid response will be possible if an avian influenza pandemic becomes a reality.

As the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza becomes increasingly serious, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been issuing warnings that it is only a matter of time before large-scale human infection occurs. Avian influenza, which mainly occurs in poultry such as chickens and ducks, is now considered the most likely candidate for the “next pandemic” as cases of infection in mammals such as cows, dogs, and cats are also rapidly increasing.

In particular, in the United States, the national sense of crisis is growing as patients with highly pathogenic avian influenza infection have been reported one after another since last year, and the first death was reported in January of this year. The fatality rate of avian influenza is over 50%.

With this NIH-NIAID joint development approval, Hyundai Bio's Zefty has been officially included in the NIH's global therapeutic development project to respond to the avian influenza pandemic. Zefty's main ingredient, niclosamide, has already been confirmed to have antiviral efficacy against the avian influenza virus in cell experiments, and this has been reported to the global scientific community.

“Avian influenza is a dangerous virus with a fatality rate of over 50%, and the number of cases occurring in humans has been rapidly increasing since last year, raising concerns about the next ‘typical steps toward a pandemic,’” said Bae Byung-jun, head of Hyundai BioLogics’ strategy division. “This joint development will be an important turning point for diversifying our treatment portfolio in preparation for the next pandemic, and for Hyundai BioLogics and NIH to establish a global cooperative system to respond to pandemics.”

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