The Dimerix Ltd (ASX: DXB) share price is rising today after the biopharmaceutical company announced its involvement in a trial on COVID-19 therapies.
Dimerix will be involved in the trial, named CLARITY 2.0, which has received approval from the Central Independent Ethical Review Board in India. It is expected to begin in April.
At the time of writing, the Dimerix share price has risen by 4% to 25 cents.
Dimerix's involvement in the CLARITY 2.0 trial
Dimerix's lead drug candidate, DMX-200, will be included in the CLARITY 2.0 trial, which will study treatment options for COVID-19.
CLARITY 2.0 will be running in India, where it will combine doses of DMX-200 with blood pressure medication to treat the respiratory symptoms associated with COVID-19.
The trial will involve 600 patients infected with COVID-19, who will be treated for 28 days and supervised for 26 weeks.
CLARITY 2.0 will be led by the University of Sydney's Professor Meg Jardine from the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre. It will be run in collaboration with the George Institute for Global Health India.
Professor Meg Jardine spoke to BiotechDispatch:
The SARS-CoV-2 virus downregulates and suppresses certain anti-inflammatory effects and that may tip the local lung environment towards inflammation and fibrosis and might be why the virus has such a devastating effect on lung tissue.
We generally see that people with chronic health conditions that include inflammatory drivers… are more vulnerable to respiratory complications if they contract the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Some of those inflammatory drivers interact with the blood pressure system which is why some common blood pressure medications may improve outcomes in COVID-19 disease.
Early results suggest that DMX-200 may have stronger anti-inflammatory effects when used in combination with these blood pressure medications.
It is the second clinical trial that involves using DMX-200 to treat the respiratory symptoms brought on by COVID-19.
About DMX-200
Dimerix's DMX-200 was originally intended to treat forms of kidney disease, with which it had positive results.
The drug is a CCR2-inhibitor, aimed at reducing the damage caused by inflammatory immune cells. Thus, the company highlights that DMX-200 may also support the long-term outcomes of COVID-19 patients.
Dimerix share price snapshot
At the time of writing, the Dimerix share price is up by 4% to 25 cents. It has a year to date return of 6% and is up 70% over the last 12 months.
Dimerix has a market capitalisation of approximately $48 million, with 198 million shares outstanding.
