Antisense Therapeutics (ASX:ANP) shares rise on long COVID-19 study

• Antisense Therapeutics (ANP) announces the outcomes of its collaboration to study the neurological aspects of long COVID-19 in patients who hadn’t been hospitalised
• Blood samples were collected and used to generate data on up to 7000 proteins in the blood using the proteomics protein analysis
• Data identified a number of proteins that can be used as diagnostic markers which could help identify neuro long COVID patients for better designed clinical trials
• Antisense plans to review new patent applications in the US with targeted pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies for potential commercial discussions
• ANP shares are up 18.2 per cent on the market to trade at 13 cents as of 1:42 pm AEST

Antisense Therapeutics (ANP) announced the outcomes of its collaboration to study the neurological aspects of long COVID-19.

The study was done between Antisense and the US-based researchers led by Dr Igor Koralnik.

Under the collaboration, blood samples collected from long COVID-19 patients who hadn’t been hospitalised were used to generate data on up to 7000 proteins in the blood using a large-scale protein analysis known as proteomics.

One of the aims of this analysis was to assess if neuro long COVID-19 patients may have been amendable to treatment with the company’s immunomodulatory drug ATL1102 which has previously shown biologic activity in MS patients.

Leading proteomics group, Somalogic successfully tested the samples using its SomaScan assay. Data was then analysed using the Dataviz program.

This data identified a number of proteins that are significantly modulated in the blood of long neuro COVID-19 patients when compared to patients who had recovered from long COVID-19 with no persistent symptoms and to healthy subjects.

These identified proteins can now be used as diagnostic markers who could help in the identification of neuro long covid patients for better designed clinical trials and potentially for earlier treatment intervention.

Antisense said this data will be included in the recently filed applications as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets for the treatment of long COVID-19.

“The collaboration with Antisense Therapeutics has generated promising novel data in long COVID-19 patients in identifying potential disease biomarkers and represents an important advance towards the goal of establishing effective disease diagnostics and interventional treatments,” Dr Koralnik said.

“We look forward to continuing our scientific collaboration with Antisense Therapeutics and to advancing such endeavours through our active involvement.”

ANP shares have gained 18.2 per cent on the market to trade at 13 cents as of 1:42 pm AEST.