South Korea's drug safety agency said Wednesday that Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp.'s acute pancreatitis drug has failed to get conditional approval as a treatment for the novel coronavirus.

An advisory board consisting of outside experts under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced its review on the efficacy and safety of the drug, Nafabeltan.

The panel said the drug, currently used as a blood anticoagulant and acute pancreatitis treatment, failed to show effectiveness in treating COVID-19 in its second-phase clinical trial.

The panel's review is the first step of three separate independent evaluations before the ministry gives final approval.

The ministry said it will not proceed with further evaluations and support a phase-three clinical trial for Nafabeltan.

Local drug firms have joined a race to win approval for the country's second COVID-19 treatment after pharmaceutical giant Celltrion's CT-P59, an anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment, became the first homegrown treatment. (Yonhap)