-=Sorrento Therapeutics (SRNE) receives FDA clearance to proceed with Phase 1 clinical trial of Covid drug

• Update Feb 22, 2023: Sorrento is embroiled in a legal battle with NantCell. After losing in court in December 2022, Sorrento filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

 Sorrento Therapeutics receives FDA clearance to proceed with Phase 1 clinical trial of STI-1499 (COVI-GUARD) neutralizing antibody in COVID-19 positive patients

Co announced that it received a study may proceed letter from the FDA for its phase 1 clinical trial for COVI-GUARD (STI-1499) in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

As Sorrento previously announced, in preclinical studies, STI-1499 demonstrated 100% in vitro neutralizing effect against SARS-CoV-2, preventing infection of healthy cells in such preclinical in vitro studies.

STI-1499 was further evaluated in preclinical studies using multiple strains of SARS-CoV-2, including the highly contagious D614G variant. In these preclinical studies, the antibody has been 100% effective against the highly contagious D614G variant strain at similar doses to those observed in experiments with the USA-WA1/2020 strain.

Animal data generated in Syrian Golden hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2 was presented to the FDA in support of a post-exposure human treatment dose for the IND. The effective dose in the hamster model translates to a projected total dose of approximately 160mg for a human patient.

The highest proposed dose (200 mg per patient) in the phase 1 trial is a lower dose than currently being tested for other known SARS-CoV-2 targeted antibodies or antibody cocktails in active clinical studies. The potentially high potency of STI-1499 antibody may allow for rapid scaling up of manufacturing operations.

The STI-1499 clinical program is being designed for rapid adaptive expansion, including international sites in Brazil to supplement the US program.