Benzinga | Oct 15, 2020 07:03AM EDT

Apellis Announces New Data Demonstrating Correlation between Complement Activation and COVID-19 Severity

* Observational study in 41 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 found that nearly all patients had elevated systemic levels of C3a, a marker for C3 activation; median C3a levels were 3.7 times the upper limit of normal

* In a Phase 1/2 interventional study, preliminary open-label safety results in first six patients support advancement of APL-9, an investigational targeted C3 therapy, for severe COVID-19; additional 60-patient randomized, double-blind, controlled study cohort is currently enrolling

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS), a global biopharmaceutical company and leader in targeted C3 therapies, today announced observational study results that found a correlation between COVID-19 severity and complement overactivation, which is a key immune response. Additionally, preliminary open-label safety data from six patients in a Phase 1/2 study support advancement of APL-9, an investigational targeted C3 therapy designed for acute interventions, for severe COVID-19. These results also showed that key markers of inflammation were within or near normal range at the end of the APL-9 treatment period.