On Jul. 2, 2020, French biotech company Abivax announced it had has treated the first patient in a phase 2b/3 study of its experimental anti-inflammatory drug ABX464 in COVID-19 patients.

The study, which was conducted at the University Hospital Center in Nice, France, was investigating the effect of early treatment with ABX464 in 1,034 elderly or high-risk patients with confirmed COVID-19.

Abivax’s main goal was to measure the potential of the experimental treatment to limit viral replication as well as decrease the severe inflammation that leads to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19 patients.

ABX464 had previously demonstrated efficacy in a phase 2a trial in the severe inflammatory disease ulcerative colitis (UC), in which the drug produced potent anti-inflammatory effects and tissue healing.

The drug’s efficacy in UC patients coupled with its ‘unique molecular mechanism of action’ supports Abivax’s theory that the drug can help to treat cytokine storm and hyper-inflammation syndrome observed in COVID-19 patients.