On Jan. 27, 2022, Cocrystal Pharma announced that it had selected two investigational novel antiviral drug candidates for further development as oral treatments for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. CDI-988 and CDI-873 target a highly conserved region in the active site of SARS-CoV-2 main (3CL) protease required for viral RNA replication.

Cocrystal plans to initiate a first-in-human trial with one selected candidate as soon as possible this year. Although CDI-988 and CDI-873 are chemically differentiated, both exhibited superior in vitro potency against SARS-CoV-2 with activity maintained against current variants of concern including Omicron. In preclinical studies, both candidates demonstrated a favorable safety profile and pharmacokinetic properties supportive of daily oral dosing. Additionally, CDI-988 and CDI-873 were specifically designed and developed using Cocrystal’s proprietary structure-based drug discovery platform technology.

Earlier in the month Cocrystal received guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for further development of CDI-45205 in response to the Company’s pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) briefing package. The Company believes the FDA’s response clarifies the pathway for a planned Phase 1 study and provides direction for a subsequent Phase 2 study.