Red Hill reported positive phase II data for the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia in opaganib

Drugmaker Red Hill recently published the main data from a Phase II study, which showed that opaganib significantly reduced the need for mechanical breathing in patients with COVID-19 on the 14th day compared to placebo.
Red Hill chief operating officer, said: "The drug candidate has shown anti-inflammatory and antiviral replication activity through SphK2 inhibition."
U.S. trial recruited 40 COVID-19 hospitalized patients who had developed pneumonia and needed mechanical aeration.
were randomly assigned to receive oral opaganib or placebo for 14 days, with the main endpoint being total oxygen demand.
according to Red Hill, after 14 days of treatment, patients in the opaganib treatment group showed a "consistent trend" in reducing oxygen demand, with 52.6 percent of patients no longer needing oxygen support, up from 22.2 percent in the placebo group.
addition, 89.5 percent of patients on medication halved their need for mechanical breathing, compared with 66.7 percent in the placebo group.
patients treated with opaganib were also more likely to be discharged on the 14th day, at 73.7 per cent, compared with 55.6 per cent in the placebo group.
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