RedHill Biopharma Ltd. ("RedHill" or the "Company"), a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has acted on a request to provide opaganib treatment on an outpatient basis under compassionate use exemption for several Swiss patients suffering from COVID-19 pneumonia.
Acting rapidly to ensure emergency transport and supply of drug, treatment was initiated with orally-administered opaganib within the past week. Opaganib is a novel, orally-administered sphingosine kinase-2 (SK2) inhibitor with demonstrated dual anti-inflammatory and antiviral activity, targeting a human cell component involved in viral replication and therefore expected to be effective against emerging viral variants with mutations in the spike protein.
We continue to do all we can to support patients, and their treating physician, who are in need of treatment options for COVID-19. Having recently reported positive Phase 2 data with opaganib in the U.S., our ongoing global 464-patient Phase 2/3 study with opaganib for severe COVID-19 is now more than two thirds enrolled."
Gilead Raday, RedHill's Chief Operating Officer
The global Phase 2/3 randomized, double-blind, parallel-arm, placebo-controlled study of opaganib in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia requiring hospitalization and treatment with supplemental oxygen (NCT04467840), is advancing in a total of eight countries and approximately 40 recruiting sites.
RedHill recently announced positive top-line safety and efficacy data from the non-powered U.S. Phase 2 study with opaganib in 40 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, in which opaganib demonstrated greater improvement in reducing oxygen requirement by end of treatment on Day 14, on top of standard-of-care. The Phase 2 data also showed no material safety differences between the opaganib and placebo on top of standard-of-care treatment arms - further adding to the growing safety database for opaganib.
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