Codivir, a new antiviral drug with promising effects against COVID, will be trialled in South Africa.
Following on from the phase I study’s successful completion, Code Pharma, a Dutch pharmaceutical company developing Codiviir, is starting phase II double-blind controlled study in Spain, Brazil, South Africa and Israel.
Codivir is a short synthetic 16 amino-acid peptide, originally derived from HIV peptides. Code Pharma discovered the peptide’s direct antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2 after in vitro studies at the British virology research laboratory, Virology Research Services in London.
Codivir was tested in a phase I trial in São Paulo, Brazil, where researchers found that Codivir had a high safety profile while significantly suppressing viral replication in most of the fully assessed patients. All treated patients recovered quickly and no side effects often associated with COVID infections were seen. The results also indicated that Codivir might have a similar beneficial effect on other RNA viruses such as influenza.
Lead researchers from the Department of Medicine at Hadassah Medical Center, Dr Yotam Kolben and Dr Asa Kesler said the antiviral drug had potential for improving the current therapies for COVID.
“The pre-clinical data and the results of the clinical trial support the safety of Codivir administration in humans and suggest its significant anti-COVID effect,” the researchers said.
Professor Shlomo Maayan, director of the Infectious Disease division at the Barzilai Medical Center, said Codivir had a very good safety profile and an impressive antiviral effect, both in the lab and in the phase I clinical trials.
“We eagerly await the results of the double-blind studies using Codivir. It may be a breakthrough in the field of antiviral therapy for COVID patients,” said Prof Maayan.
Source: Biospace
