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Anixa and OntoChem Announce Completion of Initial Screening Program and Identification of Additional Covid-19 Compounds
SAN JOSE, Calif., July 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Anixa Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIX), a biotechnology company focused on the treatment and prevention of
About this update from Anixa Biosciences, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"SAN JOSE, Calif., July 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Anixa Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIX), a biotechnology company focused on the treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious diseases, today announced that it and partner OntoChem have completed the initial in silico screening process of their drug discovery program and have identified an additional specific compound, as well as multiple analogs, that could function as inhibitors of the main protease (Mpro) of the virus. As previously announced, Anixa and OntoChem have identified four compounds that could disrupt the function of a viral enzyme called an endoribonuclease (also known as Non-Structural Protein-15, or NSP-15). \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nThe potential NSP-15 inhibitors have been synthesized and are in the process of being tested in biological assays, the results of which should be available in a few weeks or sooner. The candidate inhibitors of Mpro are being synthesized, a process that is anticipated to take three to four weeks, and then they will be tested in biological assays. \nBased on initial identification of the Mpro scaffold compound, Anixa and OntoChem have created a new in silico library of analog compounds that will be evaluated through additional in silico screening to choose which additional compounds may be synthesized and evaluated in biological assays.\nDr. Amit Kumar, President and CEO of Anixa stated, \"When we began this collaborative project approximately two months ago, we indicated that the screening of the compound libraries would be completed in eight to ten weeks. We are pleased to have completed this segment of the program and to have identified multiple key candidates that have been synthesized or are being synthesized for the next phase, which is biological testing. While we have made rapid progress on this program, and we hope to continue that pace, it's important to note that we are still in the early stages of our development.\"\n\"In parallel with the biological testing, we will continue additional in silico analysis to better refine the clinical properties of the compounds such as oral availability and other key drug-like characteristics. Our vision is to have a medicine that is inexpensive, easy to manufacture and can be taken as a pill that does not require administration in a hospital setting. While there is no guarantee that we wi...