Atossa Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ATOS) revealed that it contracted Avance Clinical Pty Ltd a week ago to run a clinical study that will evaluate its innovative new drug called AT-301.
AT-301 is Atossa’s nasal spray drug aimed at preventing the onset of severe symptoms in patients who have recently received a positive diagnosis for COVID-19. The treatment targets patients whose symptoms are not severe enough to warrant hospitalization. Atossa is optimistic about AT-301’s potential since it will be easy enough to use, and the intention is for patients to use it in the comfort of their own homes. The company also hopes that the treatment will help slow the spread of the virus while reducing COVID-19 symptoms.
“Our AT-301 nasal spray program is being developed for COVID-19 patients who are not hospitalized, which complements our AT-H201 program being developed for COVID-19 patients on ventilators,” stated Atossa CEO Steven Quay.
Avance is a leading Australian firm that specializes in clinical research. It has so far successfully conducted multiple clinical studies on Endoxifen on behalf of Atossa. Its new contract will allow it to conduct clinical trials that will evaluate AT-301’s efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. Atossa also plans to conduct a study to determine whether AT-301 can be effective as a prophylaxis against the coronavirus.
Avance will evaluate AT-301 through a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind study that will establish the pipeline treatment’s safety profile. The study will feature 32 adult participants who will be split into two groups. The first group or Group A will be divided into two cohorts, where one will receive active therapy as a single dose while the second cohort will be the placebo group.
Group B will be treated with AT-301 for 14 days, and this group will also have a placebo cohort for the same duration of 14 days. Note that the treatment, which is a nasal spray, will be administered to healthy participants, and the goal is to identify whether there will be any irritation or severity. Atossa previously reported successful in-vitro testing of AT-301 in tests conducted on lab cultures. It is, therefore, optimistic about the upcoming study and the outcome.
