South Korean biopharmaceutical company GC Pharma on Monday announced it will provide a free plasma therapy for local COVID-19 patients.

The company’s plasma therapy GC5131A currently under development to treat patients infected with the virus is made by extracting antibodies in the blood plasma from convalescent patients. It is different from plasma treatment through blood transfusion from a person who has recovered from COVID-19 to one who still has the virus.

The company is currently prepping for clinical trials of the drug with an aim to commercialize it in the second half of this year.

GC Pharma said in a note to investors on its website that all costs, ranging from development to commercialization of the drug, will be covered by the company except some backed by a state fund, and there will be no limit or condition to its free offerings.

“Medicines used to treat this unprecedented infectious disease should be wholly intended to stabilize public health,” GC Pharma President Huh Eun-chul said in the note. “The blood plasma platform created by bringing together the power of Korean people fighting COVID-19 will be worth more than money.”

GC Pharma said it was a decision to make a more stable future than a short-term profit, asking for the understanding from investors over its potential financial loss.

GC Pharma shares rose 4.29 percent to trade at 158,000 won at 12:00 pm in Seoul.

By Kim Byung-ho and Minu Kim

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]