AQUALUNG THERAPEUTICS CORP. Receives NIH Approval to Advance to IND-Enabling Studies Via the STTR Fastrack Phase II Award for Development of A Novel Anti-Inflammatory Therapeutic Antibody for ARDS and the Critically Ill

New Hope for Treating Major Cause of COVID-19 Deaths

Even before the COVID-19 Pandemic, each year 500,000 patients in the US, 2 million patients globally, develop ARDS due to bacterial and viral causes of pneumonia, trauma and other infections

TUCSON, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / May 27, 2020 / In June 2019, Aqualung Therapeutics received a three year $1.7M dollar NIH Fastrack Award, for development of a novel immune-based anti-inflammatory therapeutic antibody for critically ill patients with acute lung injury. Due to progress in completion of the initial Fastrack Phase I studies, the company has received National Heart Lung & Blood Institute approval for Fastrack Phase II Funding. Aqualung has now begun IND-enabling pharmaco-dynamic, pharmacokinetic and toxicology studies that will advance their lead therapeutic ALT-100 into human studies to treat Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). ALT-100 is a humanized monoclonal antibody designed to neutralize circulating extracellular NAMPT, as a novel biologic to suppress lung and systemic inflammatory cascades, inclusive of Covid-19-induced ARDS.

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Key Takeaways

Many COVID-19 deaths begin with SARS-CoV2 virus-induced pneumonia which has dramatically increased the number of ARDS cases worldwide.
ARDS patients in the US have a very high 30-40% mortality rate, higher in other parts of the world.
There are no FDA-approved drugs for ARDS.

About Aqualung Therapeutics Corporation

Aqualung is an early stage biotech company developing immune-focused therapeutic antibodies for patients suffering from disorders characterized by acute and chronic lung and systemic inflammation. Founded in 2016 and led by a physician-scientist, Aqualung's rigorous science-driven approaches led them to the identification of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) and other key proteins expressed in both acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Aqualung Therapeutics is developing eNamptor™, a Next Gen platform comprised of: i) humanized eNAMPT-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies- ALT-100; ii) eNAMPT-Plex-a plasma-based biomarker panel comprised of cytokines including eNAMPT, which predicts ARDS mortality; and iii) NAMPT-Gene, a genotyping assay that identifies individuals with NAMPT genetic variants at increased risk for ARDS mortality. The Aqualung pipeline is designed to target a range of serious inflammatory diseases, including ARDS, ventilator- and radiation-induced lung injury, prostate cancer, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, cardiac ischemia, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH and chorioamnionitis or intrauterine infection. These conditions all exhibit a significant unmet medical need with significant morbidity and mortality. For additional information about the company, please visit www.aqualungtherapeutics.com.

Aqualung Therapeutics Corporation

Tel: +1 (312) 618-7337
Joe GN "Skip" Garcia, MD, CEO & Founder
skip@aqualungtherapeutics.com

SOURCE: Aqualung Therapeutics Corporation 

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