Viral replication cannot occur without TGF-β. We are thrilled to support Mateon in India with our domain expertise in clinical research to potentially develop a treatment that could be instrumental in treating patients with COVID-19.”Īrtemisinin can target multiple viral threats including COVID-19 by suppressing both viral replication and clinical symptoms that arise from viral infection.

The discovery of Artemisinin as a potential anti-viral agent is particularly important since this program has the potential to address the pandemic effectively because it is based on a product that is readily available. Abiogenesis is proud to collaborate with Mateon to develop a possible treatment for this virus. Pawan Bhusari, CEO, Abiogenesis, stated: “The COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest health challenge for India where the healthcare system is underserved. By targeting the host protein, TGF-β, Artemisinin avoids resistance mutations which could render vaccine and/or therapeutics against viral protein(s) ineffective.

Artemisinin is an anti-viral agent with demonstrated activity against SARS-CoV-2 in-vitro comparable to remdesivir, however, with higher safety index. This study is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of Artemisinin when used in combination with standard of care (SoC) in mild and moderate COVID-19 patients. At present the company is engaged in India, Africa and Latin America. The trial is expected to accrue a minimum of 3,000 patients. The company is inviting nonprofits such as non-government organizations to participate in this trial if they have the logistics to participate in observational trials and to distribute the Artemisinin in their home countries. Given the known safety profile and the widespread availability of Artemisinin the company anticipates that clinical development of Artemisinin can be accelerated to effectively deal with the current COVID-19 pandemic. This is part of the company’s humanitarian effort to fund the global, multi-country, observational trial to address the pandemic with Artemisinin. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Mateon Therapeutics (OTCQB: MATN), a leading developer of TGF-β therapeutics, will be working together with Abiogenesis to initiate ARTI-19 randomized, controlled, multi-site India clinical study of Artemisinin against COVID-19.

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