This technology licensing opportunity relates to antisense agents for treating or preventing a SARS-CoV-2 infection. The antisense agents are peptide-conjugated morpholino oligomers targeting pre-mRNA of a host (human) gene that encodes a protease. Some antisense agents included within the scope of this technology include agents previously shown to be useful against influenza, however, new antisense agents are also envisioned. The novelty of applying the agents against SARS-CoV-2 infection lies in the discovery that the targeted protease is required for efficient SARS-CoV-2 infectivity.
In December 2019, cases of an acute respiratory disease were reported from Wuhan, the capitol of Hubei province in China. The number of infections increased rapidly and spread to other areas of China and on January 13th, 2020, the first case was reported outside of China. The causative agent was identified as a novel coronavirus (CoV) of the lineage b of the genus Betacoronavirus that also includes the 2002 SARSCoV that caused a global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002 and 2003. The newly-emerged CoV was named SARS-CoV-2 by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2020, and the outbreak was declared as pandemic on March 11th, 2020. The respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 was named coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19).
Applications
Antisense therapeutics for treatment of COVID-19
Status: U.S. patent pending; available for licensing