BioAge Labs, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing medications that target aging to treat severe diseases, announced that it has commenced a Phase 2 clinical trial of BGE-175, a potent oral inhibitor of prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) DP1 signaling with a safety database comprising > 2400 patients, for treating COVID-19 patients aged 60 or older. Top-line results are expected in 2021.
“COVID-19 has devastated elderly populations around the world, largely because the immune system declines with age, making older people much more vulnerable to infection,” said Kristen Fortney, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of BioAge. “By reversing age-related dysregulation of critical immune mechanisms, BGE-175 could allow older patients to more effectively fight off COVID-19. Our strongly encouraging preclinical data show that BGE-175 almost completely protects older mice against lethality from infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In addition, BGE-175 dramatically decreases viral load in lung tissue, which is correlated with both disease severity and transmission of the virus.”
The preclinical data were obtained in collaboration with coronavirus expert Stanley Perlman, M.D., Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Iowa.
“DP1 signaling becomes dysregulated with aging and adversely affects the immune response of older animals to SARS-CoV-2 and other viral challenges. We have shown that BGE-175 can dramatically improve outcomes in mouse models of COVID-19,” said Dr. Perlman. “Because some of the rapidly spreading variants of SARS-CoV-2 are vaccine-resistant, it is critically important to develop COVID-19 treatments, like BGE-175, that are likely to be equally effective against infections with these more contagious and potentially more lethal strains.”