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The company Celltrion has selected a final candidate group of 38 antibody treatments for the novel coronavirus. Antibody treatments are pharmaceuticals produced by selecting the most effective antibodies created by the human body to combat viruses.

Celltrion announced on Apr. 13 that it had selected a final candidate group of 38 in testing of neutralizing capacities in the development of coronavirus antibodies. The company has conducted two rounds of neutralizing capacity testing on 106 antibodies in conjunction with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) since Apr. 2. Among the final candidate group selected, 14 antibodies showed especially strong neutralizing capacity, Celltrion said. Neutralizing capacity refers to an antibody’s ability to neutralize or destroy a virus.

Celltrion plans to proceed into the cell strain development stage for the final antibody candidate group. After that, it plans to begin mass-production of clinical materials for the human body, while the KCDC carries out efficacy testing on experimental mice and toxicity testing on primates.

“We plan to speed up the development timeline as much as possible,” a Celltrion official said.

“Our target is to be conducting clinic testing on the human body by July.”

By Lee Jae-yeon, staff reporter

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