Revive Therapeutics (CSE: RVV) announced this morning that it has applied for a provisional patent related to that of the drug Bucillamine as a potential novel treatment for infectious diseases including influenza and the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.
This isn’t the first time that the company has explored uses for that of Bucillamine, which has been used for over thirty years in South Korea and Japan to combat rheumatoid arthritis. The company has previously gone as far as conducting a Phase 2 study on the use of the drug for the purposes of treating acute gout flares, which was accepted by the FDA under an investigational new drug (IND) application. Revive also previously explored the use of the drug for cystinuria for which it received orphan drug status.
The basis for Revive to explore Bucillamine for the purposes of treating infectious disease is not without merit. Current antiviral interventions have proven to have a lack of efficacy when not delivered early. In layman terms, thiol, particularly N-acetylcysteine (NAC), has been researched as an effective method to reduce the potential for influenza to cause severe disease. Studies have shown that NAC works to prevent acute lung injury caused by influenza.
Bucillamine has a well known safety profile given its extended use for combating rheumatoid arthritis, and is a cysteine derivative which has two thiol groups that are 16-fold more potent than NAC as a thiol donor. The associated thought process is that it as a result should be far more effective than current antiviral interventions as a means of preventing infectious diseases such as influenza and coronavirus from causing acute lung injury during infection. Revive as a result believes Bucillamine has unrealized potential as a treatment for influenza that has proven safety while having a much higher potency, mitigating obstacles of comparable NAC based products.
As a result of this, Revive has applied for a provisional patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office, entitled “Use of Bucillamine in the Treatment of Infectious Diseases” (Serial No. 62/991,996).
Revive was founded on the premise of finding new uses for known drugs, and we are expanding on our rich product portfolio to target infectious diseases such as the coronavirus disease or COVID-19. Revive has a history in the clinical development with Bucillamine in the treatment of acute gout flares and cystinuria, and we will advance our efforts in reviving and exploring new uses of Bucillamine for unmet medical needs.
Michael Frank, Revive’s Chief Executive Officer
The company is currently developing a product and clinical development plan that intends to unlock the full potential of the drug. Further initiatives will be announced as they unfold.
For our more technically inclined viewers, a full description of the merit behind researching Bucillamine for the use against infectious disease such as influenza and coronavirus can be found within the company’s related news release, found here.
Revive Therapeutics last traded at $0.06 on the CSE.
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