Montreal-based Sunshine Biopharma has just signed an agreement with the University of Arizona to study an inhibitor of an enzyme responsible for health complications linked to COVID-19. If the tests, which are still in their infancy, demonstrate the effectiveness of the drug, the biopharmaceutical company would be responsible of its marketing.
Two proteolytic enzymes are responsible for complications in those who test positive for COVID-19, explains the Homework the Dr Steve Slilaty, CEO of Sunshine Biopharma.
“For the first proteolytic enzyme [la Mpro], Pfizer has already developed tablets,” says Slilaty. In January, Health Canada approved Paxlovid, from Pfizer. Nearly 120,000 treatments are expected to be received across the country by the end of March.
“For our part, we are working on the other enzyme [la PLpro]which is responsible for a suppression of the immune system that causes serious illnesses [en lien avec la COVID-19] “, specifies the CEO As early as 2020, the company filed patents for inhibitors that could potentially slow down, or even block, the release of the enzyme.
To conduct the research, the Montreal company announced in March 2021 financing of more than $2 million from RB Capital Partners in the form of convertible debt.
However, the tests are only at their beginning. These are currently preclinical studies conducted on mice. “If the results are conclusive, in about six months, we could start studies with humans,” said Slilaty. Therefore, Sunshine Biopharma could benefit from “the fast track” to accelerate clinical trials and obtain the necessary authorizations for possible commercialization, he adds.
“We need as many drugs or treatments as possible to curb serious illnesses that are linked to COVID-19. Our advantage is that we are the only ones to our knowledge working on the PLpro enzyme,” he says.
The agreement with the University of Arizona gives the Montreal company the right to market the drug. In return, it would have to pay the American university royalties which, as is generally the case in the industry, would gravitate between 3% and 5% of income.
Like many American universities, the University of Arizona can count on Tech Launch Arizona, an organization whose mission is, among other things, to establish partnerships with the private sector to commercialize inventions and discoveries.