CanariaBioM secures Covid-19 drug by acquiring Sejong Medical

CanariaBioM, a parent company of CanariaBio, signed a contract on Friday to take over Sejong Medical by acquiring a 100 percent share of the latter’s equity jointly with foreign financial investors.

CanariaBioM said it has secured a Covid-19 treatment by acquiring Sejong Medical.

Through this acquisition, CanariaBioM will secure Sejong Medical’s medical device business and new drug pipelines, it said.

Sejong Medical’s subsidiary, Genencell, completed a phase 2 clinical trial of a Covid-19 treatment in India in December 2020. It then obtained exclusive sales rights of the oral Covid-19 treatment in the Middle East and Turkey through a deal with UAE’s Ordi Pharma FZ-LLC.

Genencell’s Covid-19 treatment, ES16001, proved highly effective in the phase 2 clinical trial, curing 95 percent of mild and severe patients in just six days of administration. ES16001, based on a novel elaeocarpus extract material, will likely be developed as influenza treatment. In an upcoming clinical trial, ES16001 is expected to show efficacy in influenza A virus prevention and treatment through its significant anti-virus bioactivity, the company said.

“We must secure Covid-19 treatment as it is impossible to control virus variants only with vaccines,” CarnariaBioM CEO Na Han-nik said. “Our company will continue to show high-growth performance through active M&A deals.”