Tevogen Bio submits IND for T cell treatment in COVID-19
Collaboration aims to harness Tevogen’s proprietary immunotherapy platform and Dr. Neal Flomenberg’s expertise in research and the transplantation of T cells
METUCHEN, N.J.--Tevogen Bio recently submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA to develop a COVID-19 treatment using proprietary antigen-specific T cell technology.
In the effort to move from preclinical to human trials, Tevogen is partnering with renowned bone marrow transplant expert Dr. Neal Flomenberg, chair of the Department of Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, with the intent to evaluate Tevogen’s T cell technology to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
This collaboration aims to harness Tevogen’s proprietary immunotherapy platform and Flomenberg’s expertise in research and the transplantation of T cells so that both Tevogen and Flomenberg can conduct clinical trials of T cell treatments for COVID-19. Under normal circumstances, the body generates specific T cells to rid itself of viruses such as COVID-19. In the proposed trials, such T cells will be generated in the laboratory and administered to patients at the sicker end of the COVID-19 spectrum.
“We are extremely excited to reach this critical stage in advancing Tevogen’s T cell therapy for COVID-19 towards clinical trials,” said Flomenberg, who has four decades of expertise in immunogenetics and immunology. “We expect our upcoming Phase I trial to generate data that will hopefully demonstrate the safety of these T cells, the optimal dose of cells we should administer, and how we should best combine them with current COVID-19 standards of care. Though first trials always focus on safety rather than effectiveness, we’re hopeful that we’ll also see evidence that these cells are effective against this virus.”
Yale-trained infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Ryan Saadi is leading Tevogen’s efforts to develop a COVID-19 curative treatment, and he added, “Our mission is not only to develop a T cell therapy cure for COVID-19 and influenza, but to do so affordably and at scale to meet the extraordinary demand this pandemic requires. I am also hopeful about the potential cancer solutions our oncology portfolio might contribute.”
