A biotechnology company in southwestern Japan will begin human clinical trials for a drug to treat COVID-19 by 2021.
Bonac Corp, in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, said it had developed 72 applicants for nucleic acid drugs and tested its effectiveness against respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, as a component of joint studies with the Fukuoka Institute of Health and Environmental Sciences since June.
Ten of the applicants had been shown to be effective in “significantly reducing replication” of the virus, demonstrating the effectiveness of those who oppose COVID-19, according to the startup.
The team has reduced the number of applicants from 10 to 3 who are very solid in the human framework and can be effective even in small amounts.
After deciding on one of them through non-clinical trials, clinical trials with human subjects will be introduced next year.
The possible drug can also be developed for the remedy of Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, and severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, either of which is similar to COVID-19 and is hopeless yet, Bonac has stated.
The startup, founded in 2010, said its “RNA interference technology”, will attempt to create a drug capable of breaking down the genomic RNA of coronaviruses and inducing antiviral effects in inflamed patients.
DNA and RNA, together nucleic acids, can be discovered in the cells of all living organisms. Their responsibilities are to buy and transmit genetic information.
Good news. Although vaccines are the solution because they take more than 10 years, an immediate medical solution is the maximum at this stage.