Takeda's Angioedema Drug Shows Promising Action Against COVID-19 Infection

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd's TAK Firazyr (icatibant), used to treat a blood vessel condition called angioedema, has shown promise as a treatment for COVID-19 in lab experiments.
Icatibant blocks a protein called bradykinin receptor b2 in the so-called kinin system.
The ACE2 protein regulates the protein on cell surfaces, which the coronavirus uses as a gateway for infection.
In lab testing, repeated dosing of icatibant did not stop coronavirus infection completely but reduced the severity of infection.
While a low concentration of 1 nM B2R-antagonist was sufficient to reduce viral RNA in primary bronchial epithelial cells when cells were treated pre-infection, 100 nM B2R-antagonist was required to this effect when cells were treated post-infection.
In addition, the significant reduction in virus load as determined by PCR tapered off after 96 hours.
But on the other hand, the B2R-antagonist icatibant used in this study has a short half-life in the human body.
The researchers noted that pharmacological tolerance to interference at receptor level might explain why the effect reached significance after 6 hours but did not persist.
Therefore, it may be required to administer higher doses of the B2R-antagonist to COVID-19 patients a few times per day to inhibit viral replication in the long term.
Price Action: TAK shares are down 1.62% at $14.58 during the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.