eFM News

[Anchor]

The K-quarantine model is now equipped with South Korea's first homegrown COVID-19 treatment developed by Celltrion, dubbed Rekirona.

Made specifically to target the novel coronavirus disease, it's the third therapeutic drug of its kind in the world cleared for emergency use amid the pandemic.

But questions remain over its effectiveness amid the rise of more worrisome virus variants, as our Hyoungjoo Choi reports.

[Reporter]

South Korean health authorities are testing Celltrion's monoclonal antibody therapy to see how effective it is against the new threat posed by more contagious coronavirus variants from the U.K. and South Africa.

Two other monoclonal antibody therapies developed by Eli Lilly and Regeneron in the U.S. are undergoing similar studies.

Engineered specifically to target COVID-19, these drugs are derived from cloning a human white cell, and mimic the effects of the immune system to help aid recovery.

Dr. William Schaffler, an advisor to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says he's seen these therapies help sick patients and reduce the need for hospitalization, but more research is needed.

[Clip: Schaffner]
"We don't know whether these monoclonal treatments would work as effectively or partially effective against the variety of different variants that we've seen...So that awaits further study."

As COVID-19 continues to spread, killing more than 2.3 million globally, experts stress that treatments are just as important as vaccines to control the pandemic.

Eli Lilly is collaborating with its British partner GSK to see if a combination of their different antibody treatments can better treat current and future variants of the virus.