Biotech company Eradivir is developing lead drug EV25 to treat influenza
July 09 2024 - 1:24PM
UK Regulatory
Biotech company Eradivir is developing lead drug EV25 to treat
influenza
Company has completed the required preclinical studies
and will seek regulatory approval to dose volunteers in Belgium by
the end of the year
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., July 09, 2024
(GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eradivir, a preclinical biotech company,
leverages small molecule targeting technology developed
in Philip Low’s lab at Purdue University to focus on a
platform of immunotherapies for viral infections like influenza and
other diseases.
CEO Martin Low said Eradivir’s lead
drug EV25 treats influenza, a disease that affects up to 40 million
Americans, kills between 10,000 and 50,000, and hospitalizes
150,000 to 750,000 annually.
“EV25 relies on a U.S. Food and Drug
Administration-approved drug as a basis to deliver an attached
immunogenic payload containing haptens, specifically to the surface
of virus and virus-infected cells,” Martin Low (rhymes with “now”)
said. “As a result, EV25 both inhibits viral reproduction and kills
the flu virus and infected cells.”
Martin Low said EV25 has demonstrated
several advantages over current influenza drugs.
“It promotes a quicker recovery even
after delaying treatment well beyond the standard 48 hours from the
appearance of symptoms,” he said. “It also reduces both the risk of
drug resistance and the number of doses required to only one.”
Developmental
steps
Eradivir has successfully completed
preclinical studies required by regulatory agencies to dose EV25 in
humans.
“A Phase I study, designed to indicate
the safety of EV25 in healthy volunteers, is scheduled to begin in
Antwerp, Belgium, at the end of the year,” Martin Low said. “Also
planned for 2025 are two Phase II studies that will confirm safety
and indicate the efficacy of EV25.”
Martin Low said because Eradivir’s
overall immunological technology platform has the potential to
treat multiple diseases, the company is also conducting studies on
other molecules to treat dengue and RSV, or respiratory syncytial
virus.
“We have seen some early success and
hope to demonstrate proof of concept for one of these molecules by
the end of the year,” he said.
Eradivir
leadership
Eradivir’s team has been very
successful in developing small molecule therapies in cancer,
autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases. Its board members
include Philip Low and Raymond Schinazi, who have worked on several
drugs that have been approved for the market.
“We have built a team that understands
viruses and how to develop small molecules. Many of us have worked
together in the past and know how to get things done,” Martin Low
said.
Eradivir’s Purdue University
connections
Philip Low is Purdue’s Presidential
Scholar for Drug Discovery and the Ralph C. Corley Distinguished
Professor of Chemistry in the College of Science. He also is
on the faculty of the Purdue Institute for Drug
Discovery and the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.
He has started seven successful companies based on his research,
and three of his drugs have been approved by the FDA.
“It is our goal to continue our
discovery work in these areas at Purdue University,” Martin Low
said. “Our investors share this vision and have to date contributed
over $18 million in financing.”
Philip Low disclosed the immunological
technology innovations to the Purdue Innovates Office of
Technology Commercialization, which has applied for a patent to
protect the intellectual property. OTC licensed the innovations to
Eradivir for further development and commercialization.
About Eradivir
Eradivir’s goal is to focus the power
of the immune system to treat disease. Its small-molecule,
bispecific immunotherapy tethers a patient’s immune cells
specifically to a diseased cell facilitating its rapid and
selective destruction. Its first drug to go into humans, EV25, is
directed against influenza.
About Purdue Innovates Office
of Technology Commercialization
The Purdue Innovates Office of
Technology Commercialization operates one of the most
comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research
universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support
the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and
benefit the university’s academic activities through
commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual
property. In fiscal year 2023, the office reported 150 deals
finalized with 203 technologies signed, 400 disclosures received
and 218 issued U.S. patents. The office is managed by the Purdue
Research Foundation, which received the 2019 Innovation &
Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. In 2020,
IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup
creation and in the top 20 for patents. The Purdue Research
Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance
the mission of Purdue University.
Contact otcip@prf.org for more information.
Writer/Media
contact: Steve Martin, sgmartin@prf.org
Source: Martin
Low, martin.low@eradivir.com
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