On Mar. 15, 2021, Resverlogix announced the publishing of a article titled: “Bromodomain and extraterminal protein inhibitor, apabetalone (RVX-208), reduced ACE2 expression and attenuates SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro”, on the pre-print server, bioRxiv. The findings, made in collaboration with Dr. Dalia ElGamal’s research group at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), provided a strong rationale for use of apabetalone, a bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) protein inhibitor, as a therapeutic for COVID-19.

Apabetalone is an investigational, phase 3 clinical candidate with safety data in more than 4,000 subjects. Resverlogix has announced plans for an open-label study to assess the safety and efficacy of apabetalone in the treatment of COVID-19.

As previously announced, an article published on March 23, 2020 revealed the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) protein E with BET proteins. Following this finding, Resverlogix put out a call for collaborations, resulting in multiple partnerships, and in parallel initiated in-house preclinical research to further characterize and investigate apabetalone’s efficacy in treating COVID-19.

The results of the collaborative research efforts have uncovered that apabetalone has the potential to combat COVID-19 through a unique dual mechanism. First, apabetalone treatment prevents SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells (as highlighted in this work), and second it reduces the inflammation and cytokine storm response which can result in organ damage and long-term negative impacts. As a result of its dual mechanism and clinical safety record, several peer-reviewed publications have shortlisted apabetalone as a clinical candidate for COVID-19.

Resverlogix is developing apabetalone (RVX-208), a first-in-class, small molecule that is a selective BET (bromodomain and extra-terminal) inhibitor. Apabetalone is the first therapy of its kind to have been granted US FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation – for a major cardiovascular indication – to help facilitate a time-efficient drug development program including planned clinical trials and plans for expediting the manufacturing development strategy.