On Apr. 22, 2020, Cocrystal Pharma announced it has expanded its previously announced license agreement with Kansas State University Research Foundation (‘KSURF’) to include rights to additional preclinical leads and further develop certain proprietary broad-spectrum antiviral compounds for the treatment of COVID-19. Cocrystal was granted an exclusive, royalty-bearing right and license to certain small molecule therapeutic inhibitors against coronaviruses, picornaviruses and caliciviruses covered by patent rights controlled by KSURF.

Cocrystal has been granted an exclusive, royalty-bearing right and license to certain small molecule therapeutic inhibitors against coronaviruses, picornaviruses and caliciviruses covered by patent rights controlled by KSURF. Cocrystal intends to pursue research and development of these antiviral compounds for coronavirus, including preclinical and clinical development. This license significantly expands and further advances the Company’s COVID-19 program by providing more targeted, potent compounds for further development.

The additional compounds licensed from KSURF have demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo activity in animal models against the viral pathogens MERS and SARS, which are coronaviruses that are structurally similar to SARS-CoV-2.

Cocrystal’s technology generates a 3-D structure of inhibitor complexes at near-atomic resolution providing the Company with the ability to identify novel binding sites, which allows for a rapid turnaround of structural information through highly automated X-ray data processing and refinement. By utilizing this technology, Cocrystal is able to develop compounds that specifically target enzymes that are essential for viral replication. The Company is currently leveraging its unique structure-based technologies to develop antiviral drugs for influenza viruses, hepatitis C viruses, coronaviruses and noroviruses.

COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people. This occurred with MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, and now with the virus that causes COVID-19.