Green Cross, a Korean biopharmaceutical company, said Wednesday it presented the successful clinical trial results of a novel treatment for hepatitis B under development, GC1102, at a medical conference in Seoul last week.

The company highlighted the results of ongoing phase II clinical trials on its new drug at this year’s International Liver Transplantation Society meeting.

By utilizing immunoglobulins as its main treatment source, Green Cross’ new hepatitis B drug delivers improved therapeutic effects and usage safety compared to its conventional plasma-based counterparts.

So far, GC1120 has been shown to successfully prevent the recurrence of hepatitis B virus infections following liver transplantation among 29 Korean patients, Green Cross said. The clinical study will continue in the months ahead.

Given its fast-paced development trajectory, GC1120 is “highly likely to become the world’s first ever immunoglobulin-based hepatitis B drug,” said Green Cross’ senior managing director Park Dae-woo.

According to a 2015 report by the World Health Organization, there are roughly 240 million hepatitis B patients worldwide, many of whom are diagnosed with liver-related diseases and cancers, requiring a liver transplant.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)