Cocrystal Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: COCP) has confirmed that its COVID-19 protease candidate CDI-45205 and other analogs demonstrated strong in vitro activity against the Delta and Gamma variants of SARS-CoV-2.
CD-45205 shows in vitro activity against delta and gamma variants
The company had previously indicated that CDI-45205 and analogs showed a wider-spectrum activity against the UK Alpha SARS-CoV-2 and the South African Beta variants exceeding the activity seen with the Wuhan variant.
Interim co-CEO and president Sam Lee said, “These in vitro SARS-CoV-2 results further indicate that Cocrystal’s SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease inhibitor CDI-45205 may be an effective treatment for COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 and its emerging variants, including the fast-spreading Delta variant that is becoming the dominant COVID-19 variant globally. The broad-spectrum activity against these SARS-CoV-2 variants is highly encouraging as CDI-45205 previously demonstrated excellent in vivo efficacy in a MERS-CoV-2 infected animal model.”
Using its patented drug discovery technology platform, Cocrystal continues to develop COVID-19 oral protease and replication inhibitors. The company’s drug discovery strategy offers a one-of-a-kind path to developing broad-spectrum COVID-19 antivirals for SARS-CoV-2 and emerging strains.
CDI-45205 has shown antiviral activity in preclinical testing
CFO and interim co-CEO James Martin added, “CDI-45205 has now shown antiviral activity in preclinical testing against SARS-CoV-2 and all four major variants. Our next steps are to scale-up synthesis and manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) to support Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies to advance CDI-45205 into clinical trials.”
In February and April last year, the company entered an agreement with Kansas State University Research Foundation on certain novel CL3 antiviral components for coronavirus and norovirus infections treatment. In December 2020, the company announced that it had picked CDI-45205 as the lead coronavirus candidate from various protein inhibitors sourced under the agreement with KSURF. Notably, CDI-45205 has demonstrated exceptional bioavailability in rat and mouse pharmacokinetic studies through intraperitoneal injection without ant cytotoxicity against various human cell lines.
