GC Wellbeing said Thursday that it has filed two patents for an antiviral compound containing placenta extract and a new candidate material isolated from placental tissue.

The patents are based on the study results of the antiviral effect of human placenta hydrolysate, Laennec, on Covid-19 and inhibitory efficacy shown in Vero cell cultured in vitro with new candidate substance separated from placenta tissue.

The company said that the placenta hydrolysate is a substance extracted from the human placenta. It has an anti-inflammatory effect and suppresses inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression.

GC Wellbeing’s injection, Laennec, for alcoholic and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Laennec is the only human placenta hydrolysate that has been approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. It improves the liver function of alcoholic and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis patients and has recorded a cumulative sales volume of 50 million injections.

The company added that research is going on to discover the mechanism of the direct antiviral effect of compositions derived from the placenta through the new candidate material included in this patent.

“GC Wellbeing will publish the results of various efficacy test studies on antiviral compositions in 2020, starting with this patent,” GC Wellbeing Director Han Hye-jeong said. “We hope to see the dual effects of immune enhancement and antiviral.”

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