'Exciting breakthrough': COVID-19 drug trial to take place in Edmonton
Trials for a Canadian-developed COVID-19 treatment are set to begin at the University of Alberta.
The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the drug Apabetalone as a potential oral medication to help prevent severe infection from COVID-19.
“It’s a pretty exciting breakthrough,” Donald McCaffrey, the president and CEO of Resverlogix, said.
The clinical program will test epigenetics on COVID-19 patients, including those who were sick with a variant strain.
“The genetics is the hardware, the epigenetics is the software. The science of learning to turn on or off various genes,” McCaffrey explained.
The drug has been in development for more than 20 years and when COVID-19 emerged, a group of universities began studying drugs already in production that could be repurposed to help fight COVID-19. Apabetalone ended up being “number two on the list,” according to McCaffrey.
“We do have a huge lead on the world in knowledge on this (protein) and how to remove it.”
The drug is an oral pill taken once in the morning and once at night. A total of 100 patients are expected to be enrolled over the coming week to take part in the trial at various sites in Canada and Brazil.
“By removing the bromodomain (BD2) and shutting down the ACE2 receptors, you’re greatly inhibiting the virus’s ability to reproduce,” McCaffrey shared.
'WE DO NOT CHANGE THE HUMAN DNA'
The average COVID-19 hospital stay right now is 11.9 days, McCaffrey told CTV News Edmonton. That stay increases up to 23 days if the patient has cardiovascular issues. He said the cost can range from $26,000 to $52,000 per patient receiving care.
“The goal is to show that we can remove the long hospital stays.”
McCaffrey said because of Apabetalone’s unique epigenetic mechanism, it has the ability to stop disease progression by regulating the “expression” of disease and inflammation-causing genes.
“We do not change the human DNA; it remains identical,” he said. “But, we do turn the genes on or off, and that has a huge therapeutic benefit for our patients.”
In addition to reducing the duration of the disease, the hope is that the drug will also potentially be able to protect those infected from the long-term effects of long-COVID.
'IT WILL BE EFFECTIVE'
Apabetalone would cost about $7 per pill and should be taken for two to three weeks, McCaffrey said.
If the trials are successful, the team's next step would be to apply for an emergency management application in Canada in June, and then in the U.S. about six months later, McCaffrey explained.
“The vaccine is the most important thing at the moment,” Dr. Noel Gibney, professor emeritus, critical care medicine at the U of A, added. “But, we know that even with vaccination, people with critically poor immune systems are still at risk. So, it really is important that we have other therapies.”
With years of data backing the science, efficacy and safety of the drug, McCaffrey is confident it could help “manage the real problem,” which he says is the “bottleneck” in hospitals.
“No matter what Greek alphabet we get hit with next, it will be effective against all future variants.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Carlyle Fiset
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Calgary bridges remain closed due to ongoing police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Kinew, Poilievre meet at Manitoba legislature, discuss each other's priorities
Premier Wab Kinew and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre met at the Manitoba legislature Thursday afternoon.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Humboldt Broncos bus crash survivor qualifies Canada for Paralympics in rowing event
Former Humboldt Broncos goaltender and bus crash survivor Jacob Wassermann has qualified Canada for a rowing event for the 2024 Paralympic games in Paris.