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GT Biopharma and Cytovance Biologics Announce Collaboration Agreement TriKE(TM) Therapeutic for Treatment of Coronavirus Infection
BEVERLY HILLS, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2020 / GT Biopharma, Inc. (OTCQB:GTBP)(GTBP.PA) a company focused on developing innovative therapeutic treatments
About this update from Gt Biopharma, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"BEVERLY HILLS, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2020 / GT Biopharma, Inc. (OTCQB:GTBP)(GTBP.PA) a company focused on developing innovative therapeutic treatments based on its proprietary NK cell engager (TriKE™) platform announced today that it had entered into a collaboration agreement with Cytovance® Biologics, a USA-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and a subsidiary of the Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (\"Hepalink\") (002399:SZ) a publicly traded company with a market capitalization of CNY 31.5 billion, to provide development services for a TriKE™ therapeutic for the treatment of coronavirus infection.Severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection produces devastating viral pneumonia. Pathologic changes are most prominent in the lungs, with disruptions of the pulmonary epithelial cells in gas exchange areas and conducting airways. It has been reported that the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor is the main host cell receptor targeted by the Novel Coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV), and plays a crucial role in the entry of virus into the cell to cause the final infection.Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, the companies will focus on preparing sufficient quantities of GT Biopharma's coronavirus TriKE drug product for preclinical evaluation using Cytovance's E. coli-based Keystone Expression System™ and subsequently, will scale-up production using Cytovance's GMP microbial manufacturing platform for evaluation of TriKE in humans to treat coronavirus infection. Jesse McCool, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer of Cytovance said \"we are pleased to have the opportunity to work with GT Biopharma on this timely endeavor and help move their TriKE product into clinical testing for the treatment of coronavirus infection.\"Mr. Anthony Cataldo, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GT Biopharma commented \"we are pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with Cytovance in furthering our TriKE infectious disease research program to investigate the therapeutic utility of TriKE to attack coronavirus infection.\" Mr. Cataldo further stated \"the flexibility and breadth of our TriKE therapeutic platform allows us to quickly adapt to new disease targets, and rapidly advance TriKE product opportunities into the clinic.\" Mr. Cataldo additional...