Cellvera Supports Oxford University and the UK Department of Health and Social Care With Expansion of the PRINCIPLE Trial

PRINCIPLE has been the UK Government's national priority platform trial of COVID-19 treatments, and one of the world's largest currently taking place in an outpatient setting

DELAWARE CITY, Del. - April 11, 2022 - (Newswire.com)

Cellvera, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing antiviral therapies across a broad spectrum of infectious diseases, holds exclusive worldwide rights to Qifenda (Favipiravir) 400mg/800mg. Additionally, the company has global rights to the injectable formulation utilizing the same active pharmaceutical ingredient—this offers healthcare providers both oral and intravenous options for drug administration. This broad-spectrum therapeutic has shown antiviral effects against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus responsible for causing COVID-19) and more than 20 other RNA viruses. 

The Platform Randomised Trial of Treatments in the Community for Epidemic and Pandemic Illnesses (PRINCIPLE) is one of the world's most extensive clinical trials exploring potential COVID-19 treatments for recovery at home other non-hospital settings. The trial is supported by a vast network of healthcare professionals in care homes, pharmacies, NHS 111 Hubs, hospitals, and more than 1400 GP practices across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

In April 2021, the University of Oxford announced that PRINCIPLE would investigate Avigan 200mg (Favipiravir). Led by University of Oxford researchers, PRINCIPLE has been a national priority platform trial for COVID-19 treatments and was established under the premise that drugs shown to have a significant clinical benefit could be rapidly incorporated into routine NHS care. The Lead Investigators have extended the trial by including Qifenda 400mg (Favipiravir) tablet for up to 1,000 participants against the dominant Omicron variant. The 400mg tablet is expected to minimize the pill burden for patients and augment drug adherence and virological suppression. 

Cellvera has contracted with the University of Oxford and the Department of Health and Social Care to supply Qifenda 400mg (Favipiravir), enabling up to 1,000 participants with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 to receive this treatment. The support of Cellvera represents a saving of more than 600,000 GBP to the UK government. 

Dr. Richard Kaszynski, Chief Medical Officer at Cellvera, said: "Favipiravir represents the first line of defense against COVID-19. The current public health strategy is essentially a 'wait and see' approach, whereby patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 are requested to remain in isolation and resort to symptomatic therapies. Although this is a valid approach for younger patients, this widely adopted strategy has resulted in many preventable deaths, especially in older patients and those with multiple comorbidities. The viral dynamic behavior of SARS-CoV-2 has been well documented. By not engaging the virus immediately after symptoms onset, we are missing an extraordinary opportunity to strike it at one of its most vulnerable stages of illness and keep patients from developing more severe symptoms. These community-based antiviral strategies also represent the possibility of mitigating community transmission of disease via reduced durations of viral shedding. We are delighted to support Professor Butler and the dedicated researchers at Oxford University in their work to find solutions to help people with COVID-19 symptoms get better quickly, prevent the need for hospitalization and reduce the burdens imposed upon our healthcare systems worldwide. Oral antivirals like Qifenda allow clinicians to fight COVID-19 in the communities and possibly prevent hospitalizations or death. As an emergency care physician with extensive experience using Favipiravir, I have witnessed first-hand the immense potential the drug represents under appropriate administration and am confident that it will become a potent addition to our existing armamentarium in the fight against COVID-19."

PRINCIPLE trial Co-lead Investigator Chris Butler, a GP and Professor of Primary Care at the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said, "Viruses need human cells to multiply and survive, and Favipiravir blocks the complicated molecular dance that happens between a virus and our cells when the virus is replicating. Early treatment in the community could have the furthest reach and impact here. Diminishing the burden on hospitals and helping people to recover quicker through using antiviral drugs early on in the illness in the community is the next exciting frontier in the research effort against COVID-19."

Press Release Service by Newswire.com

Original Source: Cellvera Supports Oxford University and the UK Department of Health and Social Care With Expansion of the PRINCIPLE Trial