Biotech With San Mateo Footprint Launches Coronavirus Drug Trial

TORONTO – A biotech firm with a San Mateo footprint announced the launch of human trials of a new COVID-19 treatment.

Vasomune Therapeutics, which is headquartered in Toronto and operates in the United States out of San Mateo, said healthy subjects were dosed in Phase 1 of the study.

“AV-001” is described by the biotech as a “potential vascular normalization COVID-19 treatment.”

The Phase 1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled AV-001 study is the first-in-human test to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of daily administration of single and multiple doses of the drug.

Vasomune Therapeutics, Inc. plans to seek Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pending successful clinical trials for the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 disease, the company said in a news release.

“Emerging evidence suggests serious SARS-CoV-2 infection impairs vascular function in the lungs and throughout the body, which explains why patients with pre-existing vascular dysfunction (elderly, hypertension, diabetes and obesity) are at higher risk," Vasomune President and CEO Douglas Hamilton said in a statement.

Our therapeutic strategy focuses on normalizing the vasculature, which we believe could improve patient survival and shorten recovery time, which, in turn, would reduce the strain on healthcare resources, including medical personnel, ICU beds and ventilators.”