[Interview]Nam Ki-yeon, CEO of Curient, "Results of phase 2a of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, superior to conventional drugs"

"Telacebec's Clinical 2a Award has achieved very successful goals for efficacy and side effects. So far, it's shown the best effectiveness and safety compared to the new drugs licensed to treat resistant tuberculosis."

Nam Ki-yeon, CEO of Qurient 20,250 + 0.75 percent, received many calls from scholars in the field of tuberculosis after Telacebec announced the successful completion of the 2a prize in clinical trials. They said, "Thank you," not "Congratulations." This is because Curiant has presented new possibilities for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, a challenge for mankind.

Nam said. Telacebec is the first person to present clinical results that satisfy both primary and secondary evaluation indicators in internal tuberculosis," he said.

Telacebec is a candidate for a multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment under development by Curiant. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and South Africa to host the 2a prize in South Africa. It has been designated as a rare drug by the FDA, and has secured a status for quick screening. If clinical 2b is successful, the three-phase conditional sales license will be granted.

◆Expecting effect on both multidrug-resistant and general tuberculosis

The Telacebec Clinical 2a Award was given to 60 general tuberculosis patients. Telasebeck was administered for 14 days per dose, comparing the mortality rate of tuberculosis bacteria with standard treatment. The primary evaluation index was time to positivity, which looked at the oxygen demand of tuberculosis bacteria by date of medication. The secondary evaluation index is a measurement of the number of tuberculosis bacteria with a CFU (colony formulating unit).

"We can't give specific figures on the results of the 2a award because we're preparing to publish the paper, but we expect great results from the 2b clinical trial as well," Nam said. "For antifungants, the task of winning the 2a prize is also highly likely to succeed in the 2b phase.

Qurient is currently working on a report on the results of Telacebec 2a. It is preparing to publish a paper in an international journal of studies and will be presented at an international conference on tuberculosis at the end of the year. It also went into preparation for the 2b prize. The 2B prize will be promoted to patients with resistant tuberculosis in multiple countries. The medical treatment with other treatments is planned to match the characteristics of the treatment of resistant bacteria. To this end, he explained that he is in various ways holding consultations with various pharmaceutical companies and international organizations to develop tuberculosis treatments.

According to the World Health Organization, the number of tuberculosis cases in 2016 was 10.4 million, 1.7 million of them died of tuberculosis. There were 490,000 multiple-resistant patients, with their fatality rate reaching between 30 and 50 percent. Twenty-four million people died.

WHO's standard treatment for general tuberculosis is to use more than four drugs for more than six months. When resistance is established, the treatment period increases to 24 months. The problem is that tuberculosis germs are slow to grow, and diagnosis takes a lot of time.

"It takes more than two months to determine whether it is normal tuberculosis or resistant tuberculosis, and if it is resistant tuberculosis, it takes more than two months to determine which antibiotics are resistant," Nam said. "But since the treatment cannot be delayed, antibiotics can start taking place in an uncertain condition, and there is a possibility that the wrong antibiotics will be prescribed." This situation is particularly fatal for patients with resistant tuberculosis.

Therefore, effective treatment is required for all types of tuberculosis regardless of whether it is resistant or not. Telacebec's two-a-phase results raise expectations for such treatment. Telacebec exterminates tuberculosis bacteria in a different way than conventional treatments. To prevent the breathing of tuberculosis bacteria.

If Telacebec wins a conditional marketing license after the 2b prize, it will also be given the right to review the product first. PRV is a right that is given to successful development of a rare and incurable disease treatment designated by the FDA. The review period for drug licensing is shortened to six months. They can also be sold to other companies, and are traded at an average 180 billion won level.