New Drug Prevents Death from COVID-19 in Aged Mice

A new drug most completely protects aged mice from COVID-19 by reversing age-related declines in critical immune mechanisms.

An oral drug that reverses aging of the immune system effectively prevents death from COVID-19 in a mouse model, shows a study published in Nature.

The immune system deteriorates with age, making COVID-19 particularly deadly in older people but to date, no clinically available medication addresses this key risk factor.

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‘BioAge’s new oral drug could be used to protect the elderly patients who are at greatest risk in the COVID-19 pandemic.’

In the new study, daily doses of BGE-175 (asapiprant) protected aged mice from a lethal dose of COVID-19. Ninety percent of mice that received the drug survived, whereas all untreated control mice died.

BGE-175 is being clinically developed by BioAge Labs, a California-based biotechnology company devoted to creating drugs that treat human disease and extend healthspan by targeting the molecular mechanisms of aging.

BGE-175 treatment was initiated two days after infection when the mice were already ill, a time-frame relevant to real-life clinical situations in which patients would receive medication only after becoming symptomatic.

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The mouse model used in the study closely mirrored the pathological progression of human COVID-19.

BGE-175 is currently in Phase 2 clinical trial to test whether it can prevent disease progression and mortality in older patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

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“The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated elderly populations around the world,” said Kristen Fortney, Ph.D., CEO of BioAge and author of the study.

As we age, the immune system is both slower to respond to new infections and more likely to overreact once it does mount a response.

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BGE-175 inhibits this pathway by blocking the interaction between PGD2 and its receptor, a protein called DP1. BioAge’s AI-based drug discovery platform identified the PGD2-DP1 pathway as a key target for immune aging.

As with the drug-treated animals, genetically engineered mice that were unable to synthesize PGD2 or lacked DP1 had lower viral loads, exhibited less inflammation and tissue damage and were less susceptible to death from viral infection.

The drug’s protective effect in mice supports the idea that BGE-175 corrects age-related declines in immunity, providing a strong rationale for testing in older patients who are hospitalized with COVID-19.

Pending positive results in the Phase 2 trial, BioAge intends to pursue broad clinical applications for BGE-175, including diseases such as influenza and viral pneumonia.

Source-Medindia