company Dimerix (ASX:DXB) has provided an update on the number of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia recruited into its Phase 3 trial in Europe. pic: Getty Images
Health & Biotech
Patient recruitment and the number of clinical sites for the European COVID-19 treatment study involving Dimerix’s CCR2-inhibitor DMX-200 has increased, and preliminary results expected by the end of 2021.
Biopharmaceutical company Dimerix (ASX:DXB) has provided an update on the number of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia recruited into its Phase 3 trial in Europe.
Recruitment for the trial – which includes the use of Dimerix’s CCR2-inhibitor DMX-200 – has increased to 167 – an increase of almost seven-fold in just the last three months.
There are patients across 43 different sites now involved in the Phase 3 ACE2 RAS modulation REMAP-CAP study in Europe, which is studying the effectiveness of DMX-200 when administered together with an angiotensin receptor blocker in COVID-19 positive cases.
If recruitment continues at the current rate, the study — which aims to recruit 600 patients across all treatment arms — is expected to be fully enrolled by towards the end of 2021, with preliminary data available soon after.
The Phase 3 study REMAP-CAP study is being funded by the European Union through the H2020 Project called Rapid European CO VID-19 Emergency Response (RECOVER) and is endorsed by WHO.
As the world remains in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the emergence of new variants such as Delta, the search for effective treatments remains a top priority of governments and health bodies world-wide.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 195 million COVID cases have been reported to date, including 3.9 million in the past week, with cases up 10% on the previous week. There has been an increase in the number of deaths globally with 70,000 reported in the past week, an increase of 21% over the last 7 days.
While vaccination rates rise, a significant proportion of the population is still expected to be susceptible to COVID-19. Resistance to the vaccine, choosing not to be vaccinated or unable to access a vaccine means COVID-19 will still see large proportions of populations infected and hospitalised with complications.
Dimerix’s lead drug candidate DMX-200 is part of two different Phase 3 studies in COVID-19 patients with respiratory complications.
The company is also involved in the CLARITY 2.0 study in India, which in contrast to the European REMAP-CAP study, aims to develop a treatment that can help ease early-stage respiratory symptoms and prevent a patient needing intensive hospital care.
In a country such as India, with a population of more than 1.3 billion that’s been heavily impacted by COVID-19, the importance of additional early-stage treatments is more prevalent.
Dimerix CEO Nina Webster said support for the Phase 3 studies in COVID-19 patients remained a company priority.
“With both the UK and the Netherlands removing all restrictions, the REMAP-CAP team are already seeing case numbers and hospitalisations increase significantly,” she said.
“New treatments are desperately needed so we can reduce their risk of getting very severe disease and reduce the impact of long-COVID,” Webster said.
While Dimerix carries out the test work to become a key global player in the fight against COVID-19, it is also making rapid advances to provide treatment for patients with the serious kidney disease FSGS (focal segmental glomerulosclerosis).
The company has found extensive support from regulators in the US, UK and Europe as it advances clinical trials for the use of DMX-200 drug for the treatment of FSGS.
Shares in Dimerix were trading at around 25c in Monday trade, with the stock price up about 25% since the start of July.
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.
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