COVID-19: Eisai to start clinical trial of “Eritoran”: severe sepsis / drug candidate
Eisai:
It announced that it will start clinical trials (clinical trials) for the new coronavirus infection for the therapeutic drug candidate “Eritoran” for severe sepsis.
A new corona infection is expected to have the “effect of stopping runaway immune function that causes severe respiratory disorders.”
We will conduct clinical trials on a scale of 400 people worldwide and aim to start clinical trials in June.
It is said that results will be available within the year at the earliest.
“REMAP-CAP-COVID”: Participation
Eisai will participate in “REMAP-CAP-COVID” to develop a therapeutic agent for new corona infections.
Eisai will use this framework to provide eritoran and advance clinical trials as potential therapeutic agents.
“Eritoran”
A drug that Eisai was developing as a candidate for the treatment of severe sepsis.
Since it inhibits the most upstream process in which cytokines are produced, it is expected to have the effect of fundamentally stopping immune runaway.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun
https://r.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO59056060T10C20A5XB0000?s=0
Our Response to the Novel Coronavirus Infection
May 15th, 2020
Eisai is conducting activities in response to the novel coronavirus infection such as support of the development of novel coronavirus remedies, the ensuring of stable supply of medicines, and the support of aid efforts being conducted in various different countries.
Contribution to Development of Remedies
Regarding the TLR4 (Toll-Like Receptor 4) inhibitor eritoran (E5564), created and developed internally as a sepsis treatment,
Eisai is participating in the international network REMAP-CAP-COVID (Randomized, Embedded, Multi-factorial, Adaptive Platform-Community Acquired Pneumonia COVID)
which aims for novel coronavirus medicine development through drug repurposing, and is to begin an international collaborative clinical trial in June 2020 which is designated for confirmed novel coronavirus patients who are hospitalized and are in a progressing disease state.
Regarding cytokine production, which is the cause of the cytokine storm that is strongly indicated as participating in the worsening of pneumonia and other symptoms of the novel coronavirus,
it is hoped that through suppressing the most upstream TLR4 activity, the production of multiple cytokine types will be suppressed and pneumonia and other symptoms can thus be prevented from becoming severe.
Eisai Co., Ltd.