Neutrolis announced the development of NTR-441, a first-in-class DNASE1L3 enzyme analog that has the potential to rapidly and systemically clear neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) for severe cases of COVID-19. NETs are a fundamental arm of the immune system and play an important role in chronic and acute diseases.
"We believe NETs are the common factor that explains the mysterious multisystem complications of COVID-19," said Toby Fox, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Neutrolis. "Our lead compound, NTR-441, and other molecules from our Chromatinase™ platform are the only drugs currently in development that could systemically remove NETs from the body. Thanks in part to competitive funding from the National Institutes of Health (R43HL150944), we will test whether NTR-441 is effective in ARDS, the most lethal manifestation of COVID-19."
Several independent investigators have observed NETs in the lungs of autopsied COVID-19 patients, and observed that NETs biomarkers in patient blood correlate with the clinical severity of COVID-19.
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"NETs may also induce microthrombosis in many organs causing organ failure or strokes. All of these thrombotic events are highly prevalent in COVID-19 patients," said Denisa Wagner, Ph.D., Edwin Cohn Professor of Pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital (BCH), Harvard Medical School, which licensed Neutrolis some of the intellectual property that underpins the Chromatinase™ platform.
"NETs are a fundamental but unaddressed culprit in a wide array of human diseases. As a critical care specialist and pulmonologist, I think that an efficient therapy against NETs will be important for patients with COVID-19 and other causes of ARDS," said Mark Looney, M.D., Professor of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco and an expert in ARDS. "If proven safe and effective, NTR-441 could benefit a wide array of patients long after the coronavirus pandemic has ended."