Cocrystal Pharma Advances One Of Its COVID-19 Antiviral Treatment Candidate

Cocrystal Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:COCP) selected CDI-988 for clinical development as an oral treatment for COVID-19.
CDI-988 targeted a highly conserved region in the active site of SARS-CoV-2 main (3CL) protease required for viral replication and was specifically designed and developed as an oral antiviral candidate for COVID-19 using Cocrystal's proprietary structure-based drug discovery platform technology.
In January 2022, the Company announced its intention to evaluate two oral protease inhibitors before selecting a lead candidate for clinical development.
Both CDI-988 and the other candidate exhibited superior in vitro potency and broad-spectrum antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses. In preclinical studies, both candidates demonstrated favorable safety profiles and pharmacokinetic properties supportive of oral administration for the treatment of COVID-19.
"Upon completion of IND-enabling toxicology studies of CDI-988, we plan to file for regulatory approval to begin a first-in-human trial in Australia in the first quarter of 2023," said Sam Lee, Cocrystal's President and co-interim CEO.
Price Action: COCP shares are down 4.31% at $2.63 on the last check Tuesday.