Shionogi’s Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Antiviral has proven its ability to reduce viral load in phase 2 trials of adults.
The study shows that 114 healthy adults were implanted with the virus and then given the antiviral, dubbed S-337395, or placebo for five days. Individuals who were treated with S-337395 showed a statistically significant reduction in viral load as compared to the placebo group.
The Japanese biopharma singled out the cohort that received the highest dose of S-337395. The company said in a statement that these individuals saw an 88.94% reduction in viral load as well as statistically significant improvement in clinical symptom scores.
Shionogi added, “When it came to safety, there were no serious or severe adverse events and no dose-dependent increase in incidence or severity of adverse events.”
S-337395 is specially designed to inhibit the activity of the L protein, which is required for the virus to replicate. The tech was developed in collaboration with Japanese chemical company UBE, which is responsible for developing and manufacturing the pharmaceutical ingredient for antiviral drugs.
While a lot of recent development in the RSV space is going on nowadays, Merck and Co’s preventive antibodies have focused on children, while Shionogi used this morning’s release to highlight that recent years have seen “growing awareness that RSV also causes high rates of hospitalization and mortality amongst individuals aged 60 and older.”
This morning’s data are similar to those data posted by Enanta Pharmaceuticals in September, which showed that its own antiviral EDP-323 lowered viral load by 85% at the high dose and 87% at the low dose as compared to placebo.
Both Enanta and Shionogi are ready to enter a market that is already served by RSV vaccines that can prevent infection and, in doing so, reduce the number of people who may need an antiviral. Previously Enanta explained that it sees an ongoing need for antivirals in both the pediatric and adult populations, pointing to low vaccine use in adults.
In its release this morning, Shionogi made a similar point, noting that “effective antiviral treatment options for RSV remain limited, and there continues to be a significant unmet medical need in this area.”
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