NRx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: NRXP) has published peer-reviewed data from the prospective, open-label, controlled aviptadil study for respiratory failure treatment in patients with Critical coronavirus infection.
Patients treated with aviptadil survived 60 more days relative to standard of care
The study found that 81% of individuals treated with aviptadil survived 60 days, compared to only 21% of those treated with standard of care at Houston Methodist Hospital. In addition, the cumulative recovery probability from respiratory failure showed a similar nine-fold benefit. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases and Treatment.
Lead Author of the study Jihad Georges Youssef said, “We view this study as supportive evidence that aviptadil protects the lung against the lethal effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
The patients in this trial were at the highest risk of death due to significant comorbidities that made them ineligible for the phase 2b/3 pivotal trial of aviptadil for the treatment of COVID-19-related respiratory failure. Furthermore, during the first wave of the pandemic in the summer of 2020, participants in the trial did not respond to any of the approved COVID-19 therapies.
Aviptadil protects lungs against SARS-Cov-2’s effects
Youssef added, “Although randomized, placebo-controlled trials are the gold standard for medical evidence, the findings in this open-label study are remarkably similar to those seen at tertiary care medical centers in the phase 2b/3 trial of aviptadil vs. placebo. Therefore, we view this study as supportive evidence that aviptadil protects the lung against the lethal effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The patients enrolled in this trial had no therapeutic alternatives and 80% of those treated with standard of care died within 60 days of hospital admission. The corresponding improvement in RDR and cytokine levels add biologic plausibility to the findings. We believe these add important perspective to the potential for aviptadil to help some of the sickest patients with Critical COVID-19 recover and return home to their families.”
