London, UK – September 16, 2020 – Biotech start-up COVIMRO Ltd demonstrated the effectiveness of its compound, Covimro against Coronavirus. EM images taken with a Titan Krios scanning/transmission electron microscope from the University of Leeds show Covimro’s action in disrupting the viral membrane and dislodging the S Spike Proteins.
The structural stability and integrity of a virus are important in order for it to infect a target cell. If the structural integrity is compromised, the virus loses infectivity quickly.
“The use of electron microscopy (EM) is highly complementary to the ongoing pharmacological studies. The current lab assays allow us to test the potency and pharmacokinetic properties of Covimro. The EM allows us to directly see the effect Covimro has on the virus structure and allows us to test the hypothesis of its mode of action. Our current pilot studies have suggested changes in virus integrity in the presence of Covimro with degradation of the viral spikes. This is significant as the infectivity of the virus will be lost if we can degrade the spike structure. Further work will allow us to do further controls with a series of “blind studies” to examine the effects of Covimro and examine the role of concentration and incubation time on virus integrity and the degradation of viral spikes and disruption to the membrane.” said Dr. Stephen Muench, School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Leeds.
The global unavailability of a vaccine for coronavirus, uncertainty around its route of administration, doubts about its efficacy, the possible requirement of booster doses and the duration of immunity remain challenges.
Covimro has a virus agnostic, 3 stage design architecture that addresses the full lifecycle of the virus. It is designed to structurally degrade the virus upon contact, prevent it from attaching to the cell and reduce its ability to multiply once it gets inside the cell. As an orthomolecular compound Covimro has an exceptional safety profile by default.
An EC50/CC50 cell culture study conducted at Hvivo labs in London showed a 20% reduction in coronavirus infectivity at just 0.39% concentration, as measured by cytopathic effects, CPE.
Being virus agnostic brings two key advantages; immunity against antigenic drift and immunity against the even more serious antigenic shift. In a pandemic situation these 2 facets are of critical importance to keep up with a mutating virus.
This promising pilot data paves the way towards creating preventative treatment models that may help reduce the viral load. This can give the immune system a helping hand so it stands a better chance of fighting the virus, which may result in improved patient outcomes.
About COVIMRO™
UK-based start-up COVIMRO™ is a biotech research company specialising in agnostic antiviral solutions. The multidisciplinary team draws from the latest advances in virology, oncology and RNA genetics.
Contact
For more information visit www.covimro.com
General enquiries: info@covimro.com
Investment enquiries: investors@covimro.com
Phone: +44 739 241 3386
