Resverlogix Announces Apabetalone Treatment Prior to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Exposure Significantly Reduces Viral Infection – Confirms Plans for COVID-19 Clinical Trial

Latest publication confirms BET inhibitors reduce the levels of critical receptors used by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) to gain entry into cells, thereby reducing viral infection

CALGARY, Alberta, Dec. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Resverlogix Corp. (“Resverlogix” or the “Company”) (TSX:RVX) is pleased to announce recent published findings in the high-impact journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), that further supports other 2020 publications and provides new evidence for the therapeutic potential of BET inhibitors in the treatment of COVID-19. A publication titled: “Targeting transcriptional regulation of SARS-CoV-2 entry factors ACE2 and TMPRSS2”, highlights the important role that host cell receptors play in enabling viral entry into cells, and presents direct evidence that BET inhibitors reduce SARS-CoV-2 (the scientific name for the virus responsible for COVID-19) infection by inhibiting the expression of these receptors. The publication also acknowledges Resverlogix and the Company’s plans to confirm the hypothesis with a clinical trial utilizing its advanced BET inhibition technology.

The publication can be viewed using the following LINK.

The findings are consistent with recent in-house studies performed by Resverlogix which demonstrated that apabetalone inhibits the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the receptor utilized by the novel coronavirus to enter human cells. Further, preliminary data from collaborators – working with live coronavirus in multiple cell models – suggest apabetalone treatment prior to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID)-19) exposure significantly reduces viral infection.

“The PNAS study gives us the clearest evidence to date of the mechanism behind the efficacy of BET inhibitors in the treatment of COVID-19,” said Donald McCaffrey, President and CEO of Resverlogix. “So far, Resverlogix has been collaborating with three separate research groups each studying apabetalone in a live virus setting. We have reviewed the early data from these groups and have made the corporate decision to proceed with a human clinical trial as soon as possible. Our live virus data will be published upon completion of the work. We will be initiating our clinical design and applications prior to publication.