Constant Therapeutics, a private biopharmaceutical company, is testing its peptide drug, TXA127, a pharmaceutical formulation of the natural human peptide angiotensin-(1-7) in a phase two clinical trial at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York, New York, it was reported on Wednesday.

The company is enrolling 100 patients with COVID-19 who require oxygen but are not in intensive care for the double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The product is a Mas receptor agonist and it has been indicated in various animal models of lung injury to decrease inflammation, stabilise endothelial and epithelial barriers and decrease fibrosis.

The endpoints of the trial include incidence of renal failure and incidence of respiratory failure.