Enanta Pharmaceuticals Initiates SPRINT, a Phase 2 Clinical Trial of EDP-235, its Oral, Direct-Acting Antiviral Protease Inhibitor Specifically Designed for the Treatment of COVID-19

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to creating small molecule drugs for viral infections, today announced the initiation of SPRINT (SARS-Cov-2 PRotease INhibitor Treatment), a Phase 2 clinical trial of EDP-235, Enanta’s lead oral, 3CL protease inhibitor, in non-hospitalized, symptomatic adults with mild or moderate COVID-19. The study is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and antiviral activity of 200mg and 400mg once-daily doses of EDP-235 compared to placebo.

“The initiation of SPRINT is an important milestone in advancing the clinical development of EDP-235 as a once-daily antiviral treatment for COVID-19. Our recent encouraging Phase 1 data for EDP-235 demonstrated that 200mg and 400mg once-daily doses were safe and well-tolerated and provided plasma drug levels that were 7-fold and 13-fold, respectively, over the plasma protein adjusted EC₉₀ for the Omicron variant, without the need for a boosting agent such as ritonavir and its associated drug-drug interactions,” said Jay R. Luly, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Enanta Pharmaceuticals. “EDP-235 has the potential to be a best-in-class, one pill, once-a-day antiviral treatment for COVID-19 that can be easily prescribed and administered to reduce the burden of this disease on patients and our healthcare systems. As COVID-19 continues to present significant challenges worldwide, we remain confident in our expertise in infectious disease to combat this virus with a much-needed antiviral treatment that is active against all COVID-19 variants of concern. We look forward to reporting data from SPRINT in the first half of 2023.”

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study will enroll approximately 200 non-hospitalized, symptomatic patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, who are not at increased risk for developing severe disease. Patients will be eligible to participate if they have had symptoms for five days or less and have not received a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine or been infected with SARS-CoV-2 within 90 days of enrollment.

Patients will receive EDP-235 orally at a dose of 200mg or 400mg or placebo once daily for five days. The primary objective of the study includes evaluation of safety and tolerability, and secondary objectives include the evaluation of virologic endpoints, clinical symptoms and outcomes, and pharmacokinetics.

EDP-235 is supported by positive topline data from a Phase 1 study which assessed the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of orally administered single and multiple ascending doses of EDP-235 in healthy adult subjects. In the Phase 1 study, EDP-235 demonstrated favorable safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics with strong exposure multiples over the EC₉₀, supporting its potential as a once-daily antiviral therapy without ritonavir.