Candidate: WP1096 and WP1097
Category: ANTIVIRAL
Type: Antimetabolite
Status: Moleculin said September 29 that its researchers discovered that a molecule within its portfolio of antimetabolites, WP1096, showed significant in vitro antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. Independent laboratory testing of WP1096 “repeatedly” demonstrated a therapeutic index of greater than 10, which the company said was an industry-standard commercialization threshold for in vitro performance of antiviral drugs. “Our efforts led to a new discovery that we believe can be a game-changer,” Walter Klemp, Moleculin’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
WP1096 and a close analog, WP1097, are structurally slightly different agents within the portfolio anchored by the company’s preclinical COVID-19 candidate WP1122. “Small structural changes unexpectedly resulted in high levels of antiviral activity and potentially a unique mode of action,” Moleculin stated.
Moleculin said it will need at least twelve months of development work to assess clinical potential for WP1096 and WP1097 and file an IND with the FDA.
COVID-19: 200 Candidates and Counting
To navigate through the >200 potential therapeutic and vaccine options for COVID-19, GEN has grouped the candidates into four broad categories based on their developmental and (where applicable) clinical progress:
● FRONT RUNNER – the most promising therapeutics/vaccines based on clinical progress, favorable data or both.
● DEFINITELY MAYBE – earlier phases with promising partners, or more advanced candidates in development that have generated uneven data.
● KEEPING AN EYE ON… – interesting technology, attracting notable partners, or both, but preliminary data.
● TOO SOON TO TELL – longshots pending additional experimental and/or clinical data.
GEN has also tagged the most common treatment types:
● ANTIVIRAL
● VAX
● ANTIBODY
● RNA
