TikoMed's ILB® inhibits cell infection by coronaviruses and modulates reactive cytokine release from microglia in vitro

Adds further support for its broad-spectrum mechanism of action following other recent TBI, ALS and tropical virus studies

VIKEN, Sweden, Sept. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TikoMed today announced the inclusion in bioRxiv* of an in vitro study evaluating the ability of the company's lead drug candidate ILB® to:  

1. inhibit infection of human cells by the NL63 coronavirus assessed by immunofluorescence of viral particles; and
2. directly block the interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 viral spike protein with the ACE2 receptor; and
3. modulate the downstream consequences of viral infection including the reactive cytokine release from human microglia induced by various SARS-CoV-2 variant spike proteins.

The study shows that ILB® blocked ACE2:spike protein interaction and inhibited coronaviral infection. ILB® also attenuated the omicron-induced release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNFa, from human microglia, indicating control of post-viral neuroinflammation.

"This work extends our findings of ILB®'s antiviral impact upon flavivirus infections to now include coronavirus. Furthermore, we are excited to have uncovered a potential molecular mechanism for these findings by showing that ILB® inhibited SARS-CoV-2 spike protein interacting with ACE2, the key docking site for SARS-CoV-2 to gain entry to human cells," said Professor Ann Logan PhD (Professor of Regenerative Medicine & CSO, Axolotl Ltd).

Professor Nicholas Barnes PhD PBPhS (Professor of Pharmacology & CEO, Celentyx Ltd) also commented: "In pathological post-viral fatigue syndromes such as long COVID, a key brain cell called microglia appear overactive and promote the associated neuroinflammation. This data showed that activated microglia are calmed by ILB® in vitro and suggests ILB® has the potential to inhibit neuroinflammation and hence improve symptoms of patients with conditions such as long COVID."

TikoMed recently announced the publication of a peer-reviewed article on the mode of action of ILB®. In multiple preclinical and clinical studies across a variety of neuroinflammation-driven diseases. ILB® both mobilized and modulated naturally occurring tissue repair mechanisms, released heparin-binding growth factors, and restored cellular homeostasis and function, https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.983853.

Additionally, TikoMed has reported that ILB® inhibited infection of human cells by Dengue, Zika and Yellow Fever viruses in vitro, https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.08.31.503293v1.full.

Media:

International: Richard Hayhurst [email protected] or +44 7711 821527

Nordics:        Ola Bjorkman [email protected] or +46 70 245 7497

About Corona viruses

Coronaviruses are a large family of enveloped, positive-stranded RNA pathogenic viruses that cause infectious disease in animals and humans. For example, the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 virus causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which causes a mild to moderate respiratory disease in most humans, but susceptible individuals can become dangerously ill, developing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that can result in organ damage^[1]. The global pandemic of COVID-19 disease that has spread since 2019 has had devastating health, social and economic consequences that remain burdensome^[2]. By August 2022 that World Health Organisation report 599,825,400 confirmed cases of COVID19 and 6,469,458 confirmed deaths (https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019), representing just over 1% of those infected.

*bioRxiv is a free online archive and distribution service for unpublished preprints in the life sciences. It is operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a not-for-profit research and educational institution. By posting preprints on bioRxiv, authors are able to make their findings immediately available to the scientific community and receive feedback on draft manuscripts before they are submitted to journals.

For full study details on "A clinical stage LMW-DS drug inhibits cell infection by coronaviruses and modulates reactive cytokine release from microglia," please access the publication: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.09.07.506919v1.

^[1]Mistry P, Barmania F, Mellet J, Peta K, Strydom A, Viljoen IM, James W, Gordon S, Pepper MS.

SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Vaccines, and Host Immunity. Front Immunol. 2022 Jan 3;12:809244. doi:

10.3389/fimmu.2021.809244. PMID: 35046961; PMCID: PMC8761766.

^[2]Koelle K, Martin MA, Antia R, Lopman B, Dean NE. The changing epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2.

Science. 2022 Mar 11;375(6585):1116-1121. doi: 10.1126/science.abm4915. Epub 2022 Mar 10.

PMID: 35271324; PMCID: PMC9009722

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SOURCE Tikomed