Oral Treatment for COVID-19 Patients Collaboration Announced

A Massachusetts based biopharmaceutical company announced that it has entered into an agreement with Roche for the exclusive rights to research, develop and distribute AT-527 as an oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 in territories outside of the United States. 

On October 22, 2020, Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. press release stated it would jointly develop AT-527, a direct-acting antiviral (DAA) currently in Phase 2 clinical trials. 

Moreover, the AT-527 treatment has the potential to be the first novel oral antiviral to treat COVID-19 patients outside the hospital setting as well as in the hospital and may also be used in post-exposure prophylactic settings, said the company.

“Roche shares our passion for delivering innovative new medicines to address great unmet medical needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for a novel, oral antiviral to treat this highly infectious and often deadly virus,” commented Jean-Pierre Sommadossi, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Atea Pharmaceuticals.

“This collaboration with Switzerland based Roche enhances Atea’s efforts and underscores the potential for AT-527 to effectively address the COVID-19 crisis on a global scale. AT-527 is expected to be ideally suited to combat COVID-19 as it inhibits viral replication by interfering with viral RNA polymerase, a key component in the replication machinery of RNA viruses. Importantly, the manufacturing process for our small molecule direct-acting antiviral allows us to produce AT-527 quickly and at scale.”

AT-527 is an orally administered, direct-acting antiviral agent derived from Atea’s purine nucleotide prodrug platform. At-527 is currently under evaluation as a treatment for patients with COVID-19. 

AT-527 is designed to inhibit viral replication by interfering with viral RNA polymerase, a key component in the replication machinery of RNA viruses, such as positive single-stranded human flaviviruses and human coronaviruses. 

AT-527 has plans to initiate a global, registrational Phase 3 clinical trial in outpatients in the first half of 2021. Additionally, Atea is planning to study in a Phase 3 clinical trial the use of AT-527 in the post-exposure prophylaxis setting.

For more information about Atea, please visit our company website.

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