WPD Pharmaceuticals Reports Active Compound in Licensed Drug Candidate Reduces Coronavirus Replication in Vitro by 100% - Seite 2

Walter Klemp, Chairman and CEO of Moleculin added: “This discovery essentially put our development efforts in to turbo-drive.  We are moving as quickly as we can to prepare WP1122 for clinical trials.  With the US and EU having established accelerated approval procedures for COVID-19 related projects, we expect this to move very quickly.  We look forward to WPD’s help, especially as it relates to expediting things in Europe.”

According to WPD’s license partner Moleculin, 2-DG is often referred to as the ‘active moiety’ in WP1122.  The issue with 2-DG is that its often metabolized too quickly by the body, so human tissues and organs can’t get enough concentration to be therapeutic.  Therefore, even though 2-DG is active against a range of viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, it isn’t useful as a clinical therapy because it metabolizes too rapidly.  WP1122 works to solve this problem because it is a ‘prodrug’ of 2-DG.  Its structure enables it to achieve much higher tissue/organ concentrations than 2-DG alone, but once it’s in the cell, it metabolizes into the exact same 2-DG that is so effective in vitro.

About WPD Pharmaceuticals

WPD is a biotechnology research and development company with a focus on oncology, namely research and development of medicinal products involving biological compounds and small molecules.  WPD has 10 novel drug candidates with 4 that are in clinical development stage. These drug candidates were researched at institutions including the Mayo Clinic and Emory University, and WPD currently has ongoing collaborations with Wake Forest University and leading hospitals and academic centers in Poland.

WPD has entered into license agreements with Wake Forest University Health Sciences and sublicense agreements with Moleculin Biotech, Inc. and CNS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., respectively, each of which grant WPD an exclusive, royalty-bearing sublicense to certain technologies of the licensor. Such agreements provide WPD with certain research, development, manufacturing and sales rights, among other things.  The sublicense territory from CNS Pharmaceuticals and Moleculin Biotech includes 31 countries in Europe and Asia, including Russia.