EIB backs Atriva Therapeutics with €24 million
for the development of a potential COVID-19 treatment
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Atriva Therapeutics, a german biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of host-targeting antiviral therapies, concluded a €24 million financing agreement to facilitate the company’s development and clinical testing of ATR-002, a novel therapy treating severe respiratory infections with RNA viruses.
A dual benefit
ATR-002 is an oral small molecule that has been developed specifically to treat respiratory viral infections by inhibiting MEK, a host cell factor required for the replication of various RNA viruses, including the influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2. Pre-clinical studies, performed at the Universities of Tübingen and Münster, have demonstrated that MEK inhibition by ATR-002 also prevents SARS-CoV-2 replication. In addition to its antiviral efficacy, ATR-002 shows a second beneficial effect: the MEK-inhibitor was able to significantly decrease pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine expression in cells. Cytokines and chemokines are proteins that coordinate the immune response throughout the body. In patients with COVID-19, ATR-002 could prevent a cytokine storm and the associated disease progression to a life-threatening condition. This dual benefit, antiviral activity and immunomodulation, positions ATR-002 as a promising therapeutic candidate. Atriva has filed the respective patents with the European Patent Office. In addition, ATR-002 successfully completed a Phase I clinical trial (NCT04385420) in 2019 where it demonstrated excellent safety and tolerability in healthy volunteers. Atriva Therapeutics has now initiated a Phase II study to evaluate efficacy in hospitalised COVID-19 patients while a Phase II study in influenza is planned to start in early 2021.
Atriva will receive the EIB loan in three tranches upon the completion of pre-defined milestones. The funds will support the company’s R&D for ATR-002, including clinical trial expenses, the technical transfer and manufacturing ramp-up needed to reach a commercial scale, as well as regulatory, intellectual property, pharmacovigilance and market access activities. The loan is backed by the Infectious Diseases Finance Facility (IDFF) set up as part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme.
20/10/2020
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