Reuters news agency reported on Thursday that South Korea has approved biopharmaceutical company Celltrion's experimental COVID-19 treatment for Phase 2/3 clinical trials, as the firm plans to seek an emergency use authorisation for the antibody drug.

Celltrion had said earlier that it would begin commercial production of the drug, CT-P59, in September 2020, with a goal of producing around one million doses, in anticipation of demand in Korea and overseas.

Reportedly, this treatment, the most advanced antibody drug in terms of research in South Korea, is directed against the surface of the virus and designed to block it from locking on to human cells.

Celltrion also said it was separately planning overseas human trials of the treatment in 12 countries including Britain, Spain and the US and anticipated primary results from these studies by the end of 2020.