Chong Kun Dang’s anticoagulant and acute pancreatitis treatment Nafabeltan (nafamostat) is to undergo a clinical phase two trial in Russia repositioned as a potential COVID-19 treatment, CKD said Tuesday.

Nafabeltan is a white substance that has to be dissolved into an injectable solution for administration.

According to CKD, Russia’s Drug Ministry approved of its clinical phase two trial design targeting some 100 seriously afflicted COVID-19 pneumonic patients there. The patients will be administered nafamostat for 10 days.

Nafamostat has demonstrated strong antiviral qualities in previous tests, and the results from this phase two clinical trial will be known by end of the year at the earliest, CKD said.

While it is not known which country will first get hold of the final product, CKD said that once the clinical trials are successfully completed through phase three it will apply for an expedited approval process with drug authorities both in Korea and overseas.

Russia was selected as the destination for the phase two clinical trial because of its rapidly growing number of COVID-19 confirmed patients facilitating easy securing of test candidates, CKD said.

Nafamostat’s potential to be repurposed as a COVID-19 treatment was found through research carried out by Institut Pasteur Korea and supported by the local ministries for drugs and science.

IPK had said that nafamostat could better restrain SARS CoV-2 viral infection than remdesivir.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)