Organizations awarded funding for development of COVID-19 treatment

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The state’s COVID-19 Vaccines, Treatments and Therapies program recently awarded funding to two research groups to develop a treatment or a vaccine for the virus.

Apogee Biotechnology Corp., located in Hummelstown, was awarded $306,250 for a drug currently in clinical trials.

The company was developing its drug, opaganib, for cancer. The drug has anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties, and the focus has shifted to a potential treatment for COVID-19, according to Dr. Lynn Maines, Apogee’s vice president for Research and Business Affairs.

“Opaganib is delivered orally via a capsule, which makes availability and administering it easier than some other methods,” Maines said. “Six severe COVID-19 patients were given opaganib in Israel, and all of them recovered nicely without the use of a ventilator.”

Clinical trials are being conducted worldwide to evaluate its treatment in severe COVID-19 patients. In the United States, 40 patients are participating, and results are expected this month.

Trials are led by RedHill Biopharma, Apogee’s corporate partner.

The Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked trials because the drug had already been evaluated in more than 140 patients.

Penn State College of Medicine at Hershey Medical Center was awarded $415,720 for a potential vaccine based on neutralizing antibodies to key proteins.