Arca Biopharma Inc ABIO shares are skyrocketing toward their highest level in more than a year following an announcement from the company regarding its plan to develop a COVID-19 treatment.
Arca Forays Into Coronavirus Treatment
The Westminster, Colorado-based company said it plans to evaluate AB201, a selective inhibitor of tissue factor, as a potential treatment for COVID-19-associated coagulopathy and the related inflammatory response.
Coagulopathy is among the most serious adverse effects seen in COVID-19 patients, according to Arca.
The company said its AB201 has been previously tested through Phase 2 trials in more than 700 patients for other indications and has generated substantial safety data.
A Phase 2b/3 protocol is being developed in collaboration with the Colorado Prevention Center, the research wing of the University of Colorado, for hospitalized COVID-19 patients with elevated D-dimer levels, the company said.
Arca said it plans to file an IND with the FDA in the third quarter and initiate late-stage testing in the second half of the year.
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Why It Matters
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impaired economies the world over. It has claimed 356,435 lives thus far, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
Biotechs are expeditiously developing vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, for which there is no current treatment or preventative options.
"The combination of anticoagulation, anti-inflammatory effects and antiviral activity have the potential to make AB201 a unique therapeutic to treat patients afflicted with COVID-19 while vaccine development is underway and for patients for whom a vaccine is not effective. We believe this therapeutic approach may also have potential to address future outbreaks of diseases related to other RNA viruses," Arca CEO Dr. Michael Bristow said in a statement.
Arca shares were trading 198.48% higher to $11.79 at the time of publication.
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