Biotech company Eradivir is developing lead drug EV25 to treat influenza
Company has completed the required preclinical studies and will seek regulatory approval to dose volunteers in Belgium by the end of the year. Eradivir, a preclinical biotech company, leverages small molecule targeting technology developed in Philip Low’s lab at Purdue University to focus on a platform of immunotherapies for viral infections like influenza and other diseases.
CEO Martin Low said Eradivir’s lead drug EV25 treats influenza, a disease that affects up to 40 million Americans, kills between 10,000 and 50,000, and hospitalizes 150,000 to 750,000 annually. “EV25 relies on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drug as a basis to deliver an attached immunogenic payload containing haptens, specifically to the surface of virus and virus-infected cells,” Martin Low said. “As a result, EV25 both inhibits viral reproduction and kills the flu virus and infected cells.”
Martin Low said EV25 has demonstrated several advantages over current influenza drugs. Eradivir has successfully completed preclinical studies required by regulatory agencies to dose EV25 in humans. “A Phase I study, designed to indicate the safety of EV25 in healthy volunteers, is scheduled to begin in Antwerp, Belgium, at the end of the year,” Martin Low said. “Also planned for 2025 are two Phase II studies that will confirm safety and indicate the efficacy of EV25.”
Martin Low said because Eradivir’s overall immunological technology platform has the potential to treat multiple diseases, the company is also conducting studies on other molecules to treat dengue and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus.
Philip Low is Purdue’s Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and the Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry in the College of Science. He also is on the faculty of the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery and the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research. He has started seven successful companies based on his research, and three of his drugs have been approved by the FDA.
“It is our goal to continue our discovery work in these areas at Purdue University,” Martin Low said. “Our investors share this vision and have to date contributed over $18 million in financing.”
Philip Low disclosed the immunological technology innovations to the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization, which has applied for a patent to protect the intellectual property. OTC licensed the innovations to Eradivir for further development and commercialization.
July 12, 2024
