Edesa to Study Drug Candidate as Covid Rescue Therapy

 Edesa Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDSA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has received regulatory approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada to add a sub-study to its ongoing Phase 2/Phase 3 clinical study of its investigational drug, EB05, for the treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) - the leading cause of death in COVID-19 patients. The sub-study will evaluate the drug as a potential rescue therapy for critically severe COVID-19 cases.

Dr. Par Nijhawan, Chief Executive Officer of Edesa, said that physicians involved in the company's ARDS study identified a number of COVID-19 patients who they believed could benefit from the experimental treatment, but were too ill to be considered for the main study. "This sub-study will allow us to potentially expand the use of EB05 to critically ill patients suffering from profound, medically refractory COVID-19 respiratory failure," Dr. Nijhawan said.

Edesa's sub-study is expected to enroll up to 100 ICU patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms, including patients who have been ventilated for more than five days or are receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy. The sub-study does not impact the design or results of Edesa's ongoing international Phase 2/3 study.

EB05 is an experimental monoclonal antibody that Edesa believes could regulate the overactive immune response associated with ARDS. Specifically, the drug inhibits toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling - an important mediator of inflammation responsible for acute lung injury that has been shown to be activated by SARS-CoV2, SARS-CoV1 and Influenza viruses. The goal of the experimental treatment is to suppress inflammation, fluid accumulation and lung injury, thereby reducing the number of patients admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICU) and intubation/ventilation procedures, and ultimately saving lives.

Edesa's Phase 2/3 study is an adaptive, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of EB05 in adult hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Up to 316 patients will be enrolled in the Phase 2 part of the trial in Canada, the United States and Colombia. Patients will be infused intravenously with a single dose of EB05 or placebo. Should the antibody treatment demonstrate promising results at the Phase 2 readout, the company plans to continue with a pivotal Phase 3 study.

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