Drug developed at Ohio State shows promise in treating COVID-19 patients at high-risk for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Oncology biopharmaceutical company Veru announced positive efficacy and safety results from a Phase 2 clinical trial VERU-111 versus placebo in approximately 40 hospitalized patients at high risk for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) from SARS-CoV-2.

The drug, originally developed as a treatment for prostate cancer, was partially developed by James Dalton during his time at Ohio State in the College of Pharmacy. Dalton is currently executive vice president and provost at the University of Alabama.

The intellectual property exclusively licensed on a global basis by Veru is owned jointly by the Ohio State Innovation Foundation, the University of Tennessee Research Foundation and Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc., successor to GTx, Inc.

“Due to the urgency of the global pandemic and need for more effective treatment options for patients, we are duty-bound to pursue this indication, even though it has not been the primary focus of Veru,” said Mitchell Steiner, M.D., the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a release. “We look forward to our upcoming discussion with FDA concerning the regulatory and clinical development steps to move VERU-111 for COVID-19 forward.”

For more information, read the full press release from Veru.