ACCORD Trial29 Apr 2020 08:42
SO last night the government was on about the new ACCORD Trial initiative. BerGenBio was the company alluded too. Interferons again!
https://www.bergenbio.com/ceo-letter-covid-19-clinical-trial/
"At the same time, we have been working hard to see how we might help in the fight against COVID-19 more directly. On 28 April we announced our participation in a new UK national multi-centre randomised Phase 2 clinical trial initiative called ACCORD (ACcelerating COVID-19 Research & Development platform). BerGenBio’s bemcentinib was selected as the first candidate to be tested for its efficacy and safety in patients hospitalised with COVID-19.
Whilst our clinical focus for bemcentinib, a highly selective and potent inhibitor of AXL kinase, has been on the treatment of cancer, we have been aware of bemcentinib’s anti-viral potential for some time, as demonstrated in preclinical models against viruses such as Ebola and Zika, with recent data expanding this to SARS-CoV-2. Bemcentinib selectively inhibits AXL kinase activity, blocking viral entry and enhancing the anti-viral type I interferon response, a key cellular defence mechanism against viral infection."