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Atossa Therapeutics Announces Successful In vitro Testing Results of COVID-19 Drug: AT-H201 Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity of VERO Cells in Laboratory Culture
Results Support Development of AT-H201 for COVID-19 Patients SEATTLE, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS), a
About this update from Atossa Therapeutics, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Results Support Development of AT-H201 for COVID-19 Patients\nSEATTLE, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need with a current focus on breast cancer and COVID-19, today announced the successful results from in vitro testing of AT-H201, Atossa’s proprietary COVID-19 drug candidate. The preliminary study results show that AT-H201 inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infectivity of VERO cells in a laboratory culture, which are the standard cell types being used to study infectivity of the coronavirus. SARS-CoV-2, sometimes called the coronavirus, is the COVID-19 infectious agent. \n AT-H201 is designed to act as a “chemical vaccine” by binding to the surface of the coronavirus and inhibiting the ability of the virus to enter a cell (“viral infectivity”). Significant findings from the testing include: AT-H201 components inhibited SARS-CoV-2 from infecting VERO cells in a laboratory culture. This is the first submicromolar inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 identified to date in published literature, meaning that a relatively small amount of the drug is necessary to result in an anti-viral effect. Testing was also performed on remdesivir, an anti-viral medication being studied by others for use in COVID-19 patients, and the generic anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which is also being studied by others in COVID-19 patients. In these laboratory tests, the components of AT-H201 were found to be at least four-times more potent than remdesivir and at least twenty-times more potent than hydroxychloroquine. Potency was measured by microscopic examination of the cytopathic effect caused by SARS-CoV-2 in VERO cells. “These results support the continued development of AT-H201 for COVID-19 patients and beginning studies in the clinical setting,” said Dr. Steven Quay, Atossa’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to reporting progress in clinical studies.” The testing was conducted on behalf of Atossa by a leading academic research institute. Atossa plans to publish a manuscript of these test results. Successful in vitro tests do not guarantee similar results from in vivo studies, including in human clinical trials. Additional safety and efficacy studies must be successfully com...