Policy & Regulation
Biotron Limited's BIT225 indicates efficiency against SARS-CoV-2 in a series of animal and cell-based studies
26 November 2021 -

The Directors of Biotron Limited (ASX: BIT), an Australia-based company engaged in the research, development, and commercialisation of drugs targeting significant viral diseases with unmet medical need, announced on Thursday that its lead clinical asset, BIT225, has indicated efficiency against SARS-CoV-2 in a series of animal and cell-based studies performed at The SCRIPPS Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA.

The product was tested in a COVID-19 mouse model (K18-hACE2), that had been engineered to be infectable by SARS-CoV-2, which then produces a range of pathologies including pulmonary disease. This model is routinely utilised to evaluate the ability of drugs to target SARS-CoV-2 and treat COVID-19 disease.

The study in the COVID mice indicated that the product given orally (by mouth) significantly decreased virus load in the lungs of treated mice against control mice that were given drug-free control material called vehicle control. There was also a decrease in virus in the blood and the reduction in virus was dose-dependent. The product decreased all assayed pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the lungs and blood of BIT225-treated mice compared to control mice.

In addition to the in vivo animal study, BIT225 was tested in an in vitro study in cell cultures to assess the ability of the drug to inhibit the highly infectious delta strain. The data showed that BIT225 reduced the delta virus in the cell cultures by more than 99.99% (over 4 logs reduction).

The in vivo study is claimed to demonstrate that BIT225 is highly effective antiviral agent and protects the animals from severe disease. The in vitro study demonstrates that BIT225 is also active against the highly infectious delta strain of SARS-CoV-2.

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