Biotechnology company OyaGen Inc reported on Wednesday new unpublished results from collaborative research with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, MD, suggesting strong dose-dependent antiviral activity of its lead compound OYA1 against live SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent for COVID-19.

These findings are based on in cell culture infectivity studies.

According to the company, OYA1 has broad-spectrum antiviral activity in laboratory-based assays against the coronaviruses SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV and also is a dual target-specific antiviral against filoviruses such as Ebola virus.

OYA1 had prior FDA approval as an investigational new drug for treating cancer in the 1960s but was abandoned for a lack of efficacy.

OyaGen plans to conduct further studies for the safety and efficacy of OYA1 in treating COVID-19. The company anticipates that inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 using OYA1 will serve as a stop-gap treatment until appropriate vaccines are developed.

Additionally, OYA1 may prove timely in addressing the need for combination therapy for SARS-CoV-2 to avoid the emergence of drug-resistant virus, OyaGen concluded.