Vanquishing the Virus: 160+ COVID-19 Drug and Vaccine Candidates in Development .

Scientists Worldwide are Racing to Develop more than 160 New Drug and Vaccine Candidates to Combat the Pandemic, GEN Reports in a Comprehensive New A-List .

By Alex Philippidis -April 13, 2020

...

Pharmamar

Candidate: Aplidin® (plitidepsin)

Type: Anticancer agent of marine origin, originally obtained from the ascidian Aplidium albicans. It specifically binds to the eEF1A2 and targets the non-canonical role of this protein, resulting in tumor cell death via apoptosis (programmed death).

Status: PharmaMar on April 2 said it it submitted its protocol for the Phase II APLICOV clinical trial of Aplidin to the Spanish Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency (AEMPS). The planned 160-patient trial would be a multicenter, randomized study in which two different doses of plitidepsin will be evaluated in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, to assess whether plitidepsin, administered intravenously for 5 days, reduces the proportion of patients who progress to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).

In March, PharmaMar announced the results of in vitro studies of plitidepsin in human coronavirus HCoV-229E, with a mechanism of multiplication and propagation that is very similar to that of SARS-CoV-2. The studies were carried out at the National Biotechnology Centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC; Centro Nacional de Biotecnología). The studies confirmed that the therapeutic target of Aplidin, EF1A, is key to the multiplication and spread of the virus.