Dimerix wins more government funding to commercialise its COVID-19 therapy

The further grant from the government will expedite the progress of Dimerix’ novel COVID-19 drug DMX-200 into possible commercialisation.

Dimerix (ASX:DXB) has just received further funding from the Australian government to support the commercialisation of its lead drug, DMX-200, to treat COVID-19 patients, including support for business development and partnering activities.

The $100k fund was received from the Australian government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) via its Biomedical Translation Bridge (BTB) program.

These funds are in addition to the previously awarded $1 million grant the company received from the same program, announced in September last year.

Delivered by MTPConnect, the Australian government’s BTB program is a $22.3 million initiative which provides up to $1 million for companies to take proof-of-concept therapies, technologies and medical devices to market.

Dimerix’s DMX-200 therapy is designed to reduce damage from inflammatory immune cells by blocking signals and limiting subsequent movement, essentially alleviating respiratory complications associated with COVID-19.

The novel drug was earlier selected for inclusion in the global REMAP-CAP study of respiratory diseases.

“This funding supports the strong scientific rationale for DMX-200 to reduce damage from inflammatory cells by blocking their signalling and limiting subsequent onset of fibrosis in the lung,” says Dimerix CEO, Dr. Nina Webster.

“It also addresses the clear unmet need for a treatment in COVID-19 patients with respiratory complications,” she said.

Progressing rapidly into commercialisation

Patients hospitalised with COVID-19 have acute lung dysfunction due to the immune response to the virus.

The DMX-200 therapy is aimed at reducing damage to these inflammatory immune cells, by blocking and limiting the cells’ movements.

The company says this unique approach is based on a clear scientific rationale, and is potentially complementary to other studies being investigated globally.

If effective, DMX-200 could likely be effective against any strain of the COVID-19 virus, as well as against other forms of pneumonias with a common mechanism.

The drug is currently being studied as part of two different feasibility/Phase 3 studies, REMAP-CAP and CLARITY 2.0.

Dimerix is proactively supporting these studies by providing information needed for the regulatory submissions, as well as supplying the DMX-200 tablets to the clinical sites.

Last week, the company received positive feedback from the REMAP-CAP Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) review, which found no concerning safety issues and recommended the study to move forward.

In addition to these two COVID-19 studies, Dimerix is also progressing its pivotal Phase 3 program in FSGS, a rare kidney disorder without an approved pharmacologic treatment that often leads to an end-stage kidney failure.

The company is also assessing the next study design in diabetic kidney disease patients, in order to advance the program towards the clinic.

This article was developed in collaboration with Dimerix, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.