Benzinga | Jan 11, 2021 09:04AM EST

CohBar Announces Preclinical Collaboration With NIAID To Evaluate Potential Of CB5064 Analogs For Treatment Of COVID-19 ARDS

MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CohBar, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWBR), a clinical stage biotechnology company developing mitochondria based therapeutics to treat chronic diseases and extend healthy lifespan, today announced it has signed a Non-Clinical Evaluation Agreement (NCEA) with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to evaluate the potential of CB5064 Analogs for the treatment of COVID-19 associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). The company is developing its CB5064 Analogs for potential treatment of ARDS, including COVID-19 associated ARDS. This program has shown positive results in models of acute lung injury, which included reduced levels of fluid accumulation, neutrophil infiltration, and cytokine secretion.



CohBar, Inc. will be utilizing the non-clinical and pre-clinical services program offered by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The NIAID will be responsible for any study conducted under the NCEA. Under the agreement, NIAID will be provided with CohBar's CB5064 Analogs to test in preclinical models of COVID-19, such as the golden Syrian hamster SARS-CoV-2 model. This model has been used in the assessment of other COVID-19 therapeutics and demonstrates clinical features, viral kinetics, histopathological changes, and immune responses similar to mild to moderate disease seen in human COVID-19 patients.i

Previously, CohBar submitted its CB5064 Analog program to Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV), a public-private partnership led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and coordinated by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) to develop a research strategy for prioritizing and speeding development of the most promising COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Discussion with NIAID was initiated following review of the program by ACTIV/FNIH.

"We are pleased to collaborate with NIAID to provide further evaluation of our CB5064 Analogs in a model of COVID-19 ARDS," stated Dr. Kenneth Cundy, CohBar's Chief Scientific Officer. "CohBar's mitochondrial based therapeutics may generate entirely new approaches to diseases, which we believe complements the pioneering work being conducted by NIAID. We look forward to working with NIAID on this research program."

A division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NIAID conducts and supports basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases.