The collaboration between Aerpio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ARPO) and Quantum Leap Healthcare has resulted in dosing the first patient with razuprotafib in the I-SPY COVID Trial (NCT04488081). The phase 2 platform trial evaluated the potential in razuprotafib as a treatment for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and primarily in adult patients suffering from severe COVID-19.
According to the I-SPY programs founder, Laura Esserman razuprotafib was identified because of its ability to reverse the lung damage. This was accomplished through the activation of Tie2 and the stabilization of the leaky blood vessels, which more often cause the damage.
The making of the I-SPY COVID TRIAL
“We are extremely pleased by the rapid progress in study site selection and patient screening in this trial,” said Joseph Gardner, President, and Founder.
The adaptive platform trial aimed to have a rapid and parallel screening of multiple promising agents to identify drugs, which have a higher ability to reduce mortality. If necessary, repurposing multiple promising agents can also be done to identify the most effective treatments. The collaboration also involves patient advocates, the FDA, clinicians from multiple major U.S. research centers as well as philanthropic donors.
Finding an Effective Therapeutic Agent Is Of Utmost Importance
The COVID 19 pandemic continues to be a global menace and has left millions of people critically ill. Others have lost their lives and livelihood. A majority of health systems and economies have been hit hard and may not recover any time soon. Meanwhile, the coronavirus is spreading like bushfire yet with no identified cure.
Even though pharmaceuticals are working on multiple vaccines, Esserman has emphasized on the need to find an effective therapeutic agent. She also outlined the promising nature of razuprotafib in preventing death and the improvement of recovery time.
Meanwhile, Aerpio is working on other compounds including ARP-1536. This is a humanized monoclonal antibody with a therapeutic potential of treating diabetic vascular complications such as diabetic macular edema (“DME”) and nephropathy. It is believed that the bispecific antibody can be administered as an intravitreal injection.
