South Korean drugmaker Celltrion Inc has said it has received regulatory approval for phase 3 clinical trials of an experimental Covid-19 treatment.

The approval comes as the company plans to seek conditional approval for its antibody drug, CT-P59, for emergency use by the end of this year.

The 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.