On Jul. 28, 2020, Apogenix announced that it had received regulatory approval to start a clinical phase II trial with asunercept in COVID-19 patients in Russia. The ASUNCTIS trial was a multi-center, randomized, controlled, open-label trial to assess the efficacy and safety of asunercept in patients with severe COVID-19 disease.

The plan was to include additional study centers in other European countries, in particular Spain. Published data indicate that the CD95 ligand (CD95L) – the target of asunercept – plays a role in the induction of life-threatening lymphopenia, lung epithelial damage, and inflammatory cell death in COVID-19 patients. By blocking CD95L, asunercept could reduce these complications reported in COVID-19 patients.