Zymergen Highlights Early Results From Work On Potential COVID-19 Drug Candidate

Zymergen Inc ZY announced early results from its work on infectious disease, discovering several potential novel hits against malaria, tuberculosis, and COVID-19 targets. 

• Hits for PfAPP, a critical target in the treatment of malaria, are now being advanced for validation, with hits for an emerging COVID-19 target, PLpro, expected to follow.
• The multi-target infectious disease program is supported by a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant, enabling Zymergen to identify novel hits for all three target pathogens. 
• For PfAPP, Zymergen has already identified over 200 molecules with better docking scores than the current molecule, apstatin. 
• Docking scores are well-accepted in the industry for virtual screening campaigns, and the best hits are now being moved into validation testing with global partners. 
• Zymergen will oversee all validation.
• Price Action: ZY shares closed 0.62% higher at $3.25 during after-hours trading on Friday.