Benzinga | Apr 19, 2021 07:52AM EDT

Tonix Pharma Stock Is Trading Higher On Expanding COVID-19 Candidate Portfolio With Sangivamycin Licensing Pact

* Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp (NASDAQ: TNXP) and privately-held OyaGen Inc have entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement for TNX-3500 (sangivamycin, formerly OYA1) for the treatment of COVID-19 and potentially other viral disorders.

* Under the terms of the agreement, Tonix will conduct further studies to test the safety and efficacy of TNX-3500 in treating COVID-19.

* The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

* TNX-3500 (sangivamycin) has demonstrated broad-spectrum antiviral activity in laboratory-based assays against the coronaviruses SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV. Sangivamycin also demonstrated that it acts as a dual target-specific antiviral against filoviruses such as the Ebola virus in cell culture infectivity studies.

* Tonix is also developing a COVID-19 vaccine, TNX-1800, which is currently in preclinical studies.

* Last month, the company reported interim data demonstrating that all eight of the TNX-1800 vaccinated animals made anti-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies against none in the control arm and placebo group after a single dose.

* The human study will start in the second half of this year.

* Also, Tonix announced its plans to develop a diagnostic skin test, TNX-2100, to measure the delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction to SARS-CoV-2.

* Price Action: TNXP shares are up 9.2% at $1.07 in the premarket trading session on the last check Monday.