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22 October 2020Big PharmaRory O'Neill

Roche secures rights to potential COVID-19 drug

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche will pay $350 million for the rights to develop and distribute an investigational COVID-19 antiviral outside of the US.

Atea Pharmaceuticals, the Boston-based biotechnology company which developed the drug, is also eligible to receive future milestone payments and royalties in addition to the upfront payment.

AT-527 works by blocking the enzyme needed for viral replication, and is currently undergoing a phase 2 clinical trial for hospitalised patients with moderate COVID-19.

A Phase 3 clinical trial is expected to begin early next year, and will study the drug’s use in patients outside of hospital settings.

“If successful, AT-527 could help treat patients early, reduce the progression of the infection, and contribute to decreasing the overall burden on health systems,” a Roche statement said.

The Swiss company said it is also exploring the drug’s potential as a post-exposure prophylactic treatment.

“AT-527 is expected to be ideally suited to combat COVID-19 as it inhibits viral replication by interfering with viral RNA polymerase, a key component in the replication machinery of RNA viruses,” said Atea CEO Jean-Pierre Sommadossi.

“Importantly, the manufacturing process for our small molecule direct-acting antiviral allows us to produce AT-527 quickly and at scale,” Sommadossi added.

Roche CEO Bill Anderson said he hoped the drug could offer some relief to beleaguered health systems grappling with the pandemic: "In jointly developing and manufacturing AT-527 at scale, we seek to make this treatment option available to as many people around the world as we possibly can.”

There is still a limited range of approved treatments available for COVID-19 patients. Gilead’s antiviral remdesivir was the first drug to be approved for treatment of the virus anywhere in the world, although the data surrounding its effectiveness has been mixed.

A World Health Organization backed trial found last week that remdesivir has “little to no effect” on patient mortality in hospital settings.

The trial also looked at the use of hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir and interferon, finding similar results.

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More on this story

Generics
14 May 2020   Gilead has agreed to license its antiviral remdesivir to five generic makers for distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Big Pharma
2 April 2020   Almost 150 health and poverty activist campaigns, including Médecins Sans Frontières, have urged Gilead Sciences to waive patent and exclusivity rights for potential COVID-19 treatment remdesivir.
Americas
13 November 2020   The US Food and Drug Administration will today announce that it plans to grant a Chinese-owned testing company an exclusive worldwide licence for a US government-owned patent covering a diagnostic test for the rapid detection of COVID-19.