Il-Yang Pharm said Friday that it confirmed the efficacy of a leukemia treatment “Supect” in battling the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

The firm said it commissioned Korea University College of Medicine Biosafety Center’s BSL-3 facility research team to verify the drug candidate.

The research team conducted the Supect study with an in vitro test using the SARS-CoV-2 virus strain that was distributed by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Trial results showed that the COVID-19 infection was reduced by 70 percent in the Supect arm compared to the placebo arm within 48 hours of administration.

The firm explained that the results proved better than AIDS treatment Kaletra (ingredient lopinavir) and Avigan (ingredient favipiravir).

It also added that Supect already proved its safety and efficacy as a leukemia drug, making it possible for the drug to have a shorter development time for COVID-19 compared to other therapies.

Il-Yang also said it confirmed that nine types of MERS candidate therapies proved to suppress COVID-19 in its laboratory testing.

Of these, five proved to eliminated 99 percent of the virus within 24 hours of administration, it said.