Business
Immunic, Inc. Reports that IMU-838, a Selective Oral DHODH Inhibitor, Has Demonstrated Preclinical Activity Against SARS-CoV-2 and Explores Plans for a Phase 2 Clinical Trial in COVID-19 Patients
- In Cellular Assays with SARS-CoV-2 Clinical Isolates, IMU-838 Shows Ability to Inhibit Viral Replication of SARS-CoV-2 - - Live Webcast will be Held at
About this update from Immunic, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"- In Cellular Assays with SARS-CoV-2 Clinical Isolates, IMU-838 Shows Ability to Inhibit Viral Replication of SARS-CoV-2 -\n - Live Webcast will be Held at 8:00am EST / 5:00am PST / 2:00pm CEST on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 -\n\n\nNEW YORK, April 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Immunic, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMUX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing best-in-class, oral therapies for the treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, today reported that its lead asset, IMU-838, a selective oral DHODH inhibitor, has successfully demonstrated preclinical activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). More specifically, IMU-838 was observed to inhibit replication of clinical isolates of SARS-CoV-2 associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In cellular assays, IMU-838 demonstrated this antiviral activity at concentrations which are well below the blood concentrations associated with IMU-838 dosing regimens studied in ongoing and previous clinical trials. These positive results have encouraged Immunic to prepare a clinical development program for IMU-838 as a potential treatment option for patients with COVID-19 and potential other, future viral pandemics.\n\"The current COVID-19 pandemic poses a major challenge to the healthcare community, worldwide, and it is essential to find safe and efficacious therapies,\" commented Prof. Maria Vehreschild, M.D., Head of Infectious Diseases at University Hospital Frankfurt. \"While most such efforts are focused on drugs and vaccines aimed at viral targets, it is particularly important to explore treatment options targeting host cell factors that are able to act with less dependence on the genetic drift of viruses and synergistically to standard-of-care antiviral therapies. With that in mind, DHODH inhibitors, such as IMU-838, present a very promising approach.\"\nProf. Vehreschild went on to note that, \"DHODH inhibition selectively blocks the de novo production of pyrimidines, an essential RNA building block, in metabolically activated cells such as virus-infected cells. In addition, DHODH inhibitors may help reduce the severity or virulence of infection through several mechanisms. First, DHODH inhibition prevents the production of viral RNA and proteins and, therefore, prevents viral replication. Second, it induces innate immu...