Biotech firm in search for global pharma partner to combat new COVID strains

A Cheshire biotech firm is developing a new treatment which it said could combat new COVID variants.

It is also seeking a global pharmaceutical partner to ramp up production and achieve commercialisation.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided and dropped out of daily news coverage, the virus has recently spiked in the South West of England and infections are increasing again.

Infex Therapeutics, which develops innovative drugs to treat critical priority infectious diseases at its Alderley Park-based labs, has announced a clinical candidate for its in-house developed COV-X programme.

The candidate for COV-X, the company’s novel first-in-class small molecule oral pan-coronavirus PLPRO inhibitor, was selected following excellent data involving living organisms which showed a near complete reduction in SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the lungs and an outstanding safety profile when compared with Pfizer’s approved MPRO inhibitor, nirmatrelvir.

The pre-clinical study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety profile of COV-X against MPRO inhibitor nirmatrelvir and a control group.

Two dosing regimens were utilised: 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg. Viral load was then measured and lung damage was monitored.

In five of the six samples dosed with COV-X at 200 mg/kg, viral load in the lungs was below the limit of detection.

Even at doses five times lower than nirmatrelvir, COV-X provided protection from lung damage, with treated groups showing a significant reduction in inflammatory cytokines – small proteins that signal the immune system to do its job – by 94%.

Unlike nirmatrelvir, COV-X targets the key coronavirus PLPRO enzyme.

PLPRO is essential for viral replication and evasion of host immune response. As a result, COV-X has the potential for broad spectrum efficacy against new coronaviruses or variants with pandemic potential.

Furthermore, development of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 that are resistant to nirmatrelvir, have been reported widely in recent weeks, with further cross resistance to other drugs in the MPRO class.

Infex’s COV-X programme offers an alternative for treatment of resistant strains, as a stand-alone therapy, or in combination with MPRO drugs.

With a pre-clinical candidate nominated with back-up compounds, COV-X is currently undergoing further studies to provide a comprehensive safety profile ahead of clinical stage development.

Given the strong pre-clinical data, Infex is accelerating its development towards partnerships and commercialisation.

Dr Peter Jackson, CEO of Infex Therapeutics, said: “With global SARS-CoV-2 vaccines showing increasing weakness against new variants, it will be essential to develop effective broad-spectrum antivirals that can future-proof against new coronaviruses with pandemic potential.

“Following encouraging pre-clinical data in comparison with Pfizer’s MPRO inhibitor nirmatrelvir, we have high hopes for our nominated candidate for our COV-X programme.
“COV-X, our first-in-class small molecule oral pan-coronavirus PLPRO inhibitor, demonstrated a superior efficacy and DMPK profile to nirmatrelvir, Pfizer’s approved blockbuster COVID prophylactic, and its ability to reduce viral load in the lungs is key to minimising the chances of long term viral conditions, such as long COVID.

“Given COV-X’s outstanding profile and potential value, we are now seeking a global pharmaceutical partner to accelerate its development towards commercialisation.”