Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- Noxopharm’s (NOX) Veyonda drug candidate has been approved to move to the last stage of the NOXCOVID-1 clinical trial
- The highest dose of Veyonda was well tolerated by patients with moderate COVID-19 symptoms, proving its safety in acutely ill patients
- Noxopharm is now recruiting patients with moderate to severe lung dysfunction for the next part of the trial
- While currently focused on COVID-19 patients, Veyonda also has potential applications for treating other causes of cytokine storms
- Noxopharm is up 5.88 per cent and trading at 72 cents per share
Noxopharm’s (NOX) Veyonda drug candidate has been approved to move to the last stage of the NOXCOVID-1 clinical trial.
The NOXCOVID-1 study aims to demonstrate Veyonda’s safety, as well as its efficacy, in stopping COVID-19 from worsening into cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and septic shock.
CRS and its immediate-onset equivalent, known as a cytokine storm, are characterised by a sudden increase in cytokines in the body, which can lead to septic shock, multi-system organ failure, and death. CRS and cytokine storms are often a response to infections, especially viral respiratory infections like COVID-19.
During the first part of the NOXCOVID-1 clinical trial, 26 patients were given doses of Veyonda that increased in dosage each day. The lowest dose was only 400 milligrams, whilst the highest dose was 1800 milligrams.
The highest dosage of Veyonda was well tolerated by patients with moderate COVID-19 symptoms, to become the preferred dose. The drug candidate was well tolerated in patients with very poor lung function, proving its safety in acutely ill patients.
Noxopharm’s CEO, Dr Graham Kelly, is confident that in spite of its potency, Veyonda is well tolerated at a dosage the company believes will be therapeutic.
“What marks Veyonda as a highly promising drug prospect, where many other drugs have failed in this quest, is its ability to block the release of a wide range of these cytokines,” he said.
“Moving onto part two of the trial represents an important step towards our goal of seeing Veyonda become an effective and safe treatment of septic shock, not just in COVID-19 patients, but as one of the most common causes of human death from infections and severe trauma,” he added.
Noxopharm is now analysing blood from patients recruited in part one of the trial, testing for cytokine levels. The company is also recruiting 10 to 15 patients with moderate to severe lung dysfunction for the second part of the trial.
Patients in the second trial phase will be treated with the highest dosage of Veyonda for up to two weeks.
While currently aimed at treating CRS and cytokine storms in COVID-19 patients, the company’s drug candidate also has applications in countless other ailments where cytokine storms and septic shock are a risk.
Noxopharm is up 5.88 per cent, trading at 72 cents per share at 1:44 pm AEDT.
