Neurimmune and Ethris hope to develop coronavirus agent

According to a press release, Neurimmune and Ethris hope to work together to develop an inhalation therapy to treat COVID-19. This treatment aims to induce production of therapeutic antibodies directly within the lungs of affected patients.

Neurimmune is bringing its technology platform into the partnership, which is able to identify antibodies that are effective against coronavirus in patients who have recovered from the illness. Active, neutralizing antibodies are then transferred into a therapeutic agent for inhalation from Ethris. Ethris’s mRNA technology facilitates the production of further neutralizing antibodies in the lungs of patients receiving treatment.

According to the information provided, the two companies will share both the research costs and any proceeds. They expect to start manufacturing the active substance in summer for clinical trials, which are expected to commence in the fourth quarter.

Gita Dittmar, CEO of Ethris says: “[…] local delivery in the lung may provide significant therapeutic benefits. By combining our approach with Neurimmune’s proven human antibody technology, we are well-positioned to expediently develop a treatment that could save lives.”

Neurimmune is a spin-off from the University of Zurich (UZH) and, among other products, develops active substances that act on the central nervous system or that treat protein aggregation diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Neurimmune currently has six programs in the clinical phase.

Ethris’s headquarters are based near to Munich. It is a leading company in the area of direct administration of mRNA in the respiratory system through nebulization.