University-licensed compound selected as candidate against COVID-19

Kansas State University is continuing to help in the fight with a licensed technology against coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Cocrystal Pharma, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, recently announced that a series of broad-spectrum protease inhibitors developed at K-State and licensed through K-State Innovation Partners in April 2020 has been selected as a preclinical lead compound for further development.

The licensed protease inhibitors were developed by Kyeong-Ok "KC" Chang and Yunjeong Kim, virologists in the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine, in collaboration with William Groutas at Wichita State University and Stanley Perlman at the University of Iowa.

"The current FDA-approved drugs for COVID-19 have different mechanisms of action," Kim said. "Further studies are required to reveal the therapeutic potency of our protease inhibitor compared to other approved drugs. Drugs targeting different virus proteins are often combined to maximize their efficacy, so it is always nice to have a repertoire of drugs that work in different ways."

Preclinical animal studies of these K-State coronavirus compounds published in the prestigious medical journal Science Translational Medicine showed in vivo efficacy against Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome, or MERS, a related deadly human coronavirus infection, in a mouse model. Further testing allowed Cocrystal to identify this promising candidate for preclinical lead development for COVID-19.

With the selection of this candidate, the company will initiate studies to evaluate potential toxicity risks and conduct safety pharmacology studies before the phase 1 clinical trial.

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