Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s candidate drug Foistar has failed to reach statistical significance in a Phase 2a trial to treat symptoms in Covid-19 patients.

The oral protease inhibitor repurposed from the treatment of pancreatitis did not meet a primary endpoint of time to virus clearance compared to placebo, but the company said on Wednesday the virus clearance time showed a tendency of being faster with Foistar than with placebo, suggesting there is room for further study as a potential coronavirus cure.

Daewoong Pharm shares nosedived on the disappointing top line results, losing 30 percent of their value on Wednesday and another 10 percent Thursday morning. The company’s shares closed Thursday down 5.99 percent at 157,000 won ($142.4).

Daewoong Pharm claimed the results are remarkable given the drug’s mechanism of action to block the entry of the virus into human body cells instead of killing it directly, but investors were not convinced.

In the per protocol analysis, 41 patients were included in the intervention group and 40 in the control group. Patients had mild symptoms or were asymptomatic.

By Chung Ji-sung and Minu Kim

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