NanoViricides Inc. (NYSE: NNVC) has reported the substantial advantages of remdesivir encapsulation in its lead coronavirus vaccine candidate NV-CoV-2, which will result in a dual-acting candidate NV-CoV-2-R with the potential promise of a pan-COVID-19 cure.
Remdesivir tested in animal models
During the first day of dosing in an animal pharmacokinetics trial, nearly twice as much remdesivir remained intact in plasma when administered as the encapsulated NV-CoV-2-R form compared to the normal remdesivir formulation produced in betadex sulfobutyl ether sodium (SBECD). Furthermore, on repeated doses of NV-CoV-2-R, remdesivir buildup was also seen.
When comparing the circulating level of intact remdesivir in plasma after the fifth NV-CoV-2-R dose (on day 7) to the standard remdesivir dosing arrangement (twice on the first day followed by daily afterward; on day 7), the circulating level of intact remdesivir in plasma in the NV-Cov-2-R group was 75 percent higher. Therefore, the results were standardized to represent the same amount of remdesivir administered to the animals per kg body weight for consistent comparison. The remdesivir estimate experiments were carried out utilizing the well-established isotopic internal standard method with LCMS detection.
Remdesivir effective in cell culture and clinical research
Remdesivir provided as NV-CoV-2-R encapsulated formulation significantly enhanced the circulation amount without any increase in toxicity. Therefore, it is intended to boost the antiviral effectiveness of the remdesivir component in NV-CoV-2-R treatment in humans. This is significant because remdesivir is a very effective medicine in preclinical research and cell culture. Still, its quick metabolism does not demonstrate clinical efficacy in humans at expected levels based on its cell culture effectiveness. Furthermore, due to dose-limiting toxicity, there is very limited room to increase remdesivir dosing in its normal formulation.
The company’s president Anil Diwan said, “We are pleased to report that NV-CoV-2-R encapsulation of remdesivir indeed provided substantially superior pharmacokinetics as per our expectation in designing this drug. We believe our drug candidate NV-CoV-2-R is promising to result in a pan-coronavirus cure if successful in clinical trial.”
