Business
Aligos Therapeutics Announces Award of an $8.5 Million NIAID Contract to Advance Development of Best-In-Class Pan-Coronavirus Protease Inhibitor, ALG-097558
- NIAID contract will support conducting nonclinical and clinical studies to advance ALG-097558 into future Phase 2/3 studies - This is the second NIH-funding
About this update from Aligos Therapeutics, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"- NIAID contract will support conducting nonclinical and clinical studies to advance ALG-097558 into future Phase 2/3 studies - This is the second NIH-funding received to advance the development of ALG-097558 - First in human Phase 1 study evaluating single/multiple doses of ALG-097558 in healthy volunteers is ongoing - Aligos plans to continue to seek external funding to advance ALG-097558 beyond the ongoing Phase 1 first in human study SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aligos Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGS), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapeutics to address unmet medical needs in liver and viral diseases, today announced that it has been awarded an $8.5 million National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) contract to conduct nonclinical and clinical studies to advance its pan-coronavirus protease inhibitor ALG-097558 into future Phase 2/3 studies. “It is an honor to be awarded this NIAID contract, which is our second NIH-funding received for the development of novel inhibitors of the coronavirus 3CL protease,” said Lawrence Blatt, Ph.D., MBA, Chairman & CEO of Aligos Therapeutics. “Given that ALG-097558 potently inhibits all forms of coronavirus tested to date (SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal coronavirus), we believe that this compound will be important for the ongoing COVID-19 endemic as well as for the treatment of emergent novel coronavirus infections in humans in the future. These non-dilutive external funds will enable Aligos to continue to advance the ALG-097558 program beyond the ongoing Phase 1 study, which is evaluating single and multiple doses in healthy volunteers.” About ALG-097558 ALG-097558 is a potent, pan-coronavirus small molecule inhibitor of the viral 3CL protease, which is currently being evaluated in an ongoing first-in-human study in healthy volunteers (NCT05840952). The program is part of a collaboration and license agreement with KU Leuven, including its Centre for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3), a drug discovery unit and investment fund of KU Leuven, and the Rega Institute for Medical Research. ALG-097558 has been pharmacologically optimized, resulting in a favorable drug-drug interaction profile and a higher barrier to resistance compared to other PIs in development. The preclinical activities of...