Celltrion trio shares regain ground on Covid-19 treatment supply deals with Europe

COVID-19 antibody treatment Regkirona [Photo provided by Celltrion]

Shares in the Celltrion trio have been lifted as investors welcomed the supply deals inked by the South Korean biotech giant¡¯s distribution arm with Europe for its Covid-19 treatment.

On Wednesday, shares of Celltrion Inc. gained 2.17 percent to end at 211,500 won ($179.3) on the main Kospi. Its Kosdaq-listed affiliates Celltrion Healthcare climbed 1.98 percent to finish at 82,600 won and Celltrion Pharm Inc. 1.75 percent at 122,100 won.

Celltrion Healthcare Co. announced on Tuesday that it has concluded supply contracts for its monoclonal antibody Regkirona for treatment of Covid-19 with nine European countries whose names have not been disclosed after the European Commission gave a go-ahead in November to market the treatment for adults with Covid-19 who are at increased risk of progressing to a severe condition.

Regkirona is the first monoclonal antibody treatment to win approval from the European health regulator.

Under the supply deals, Celltrion Healthcare will ship an initial batch of 150,000 vials of Regkirona within this year, which should be enough to treat 50,000 people. More supply orders will come later once the first batch used up in accordance with the virus spread rates. The company added that it is in talks with 47 other countries for supply deals.

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