Aridis Pharmaceuticals Receives Funding to Evaluate Inhaled Monoclonal Antibodies to Block Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 Transmission

Funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will support the development of Aridis’ inhaled formulation technology to deliver cost-effective monoclonal antibodies against influenza and COVID-19

Excerpt from the Press Release:

OS GATOS, Calif., Jan. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARDS), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel anti-infective therapies to treat life-threatening infections, received a grant award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (‘Gates Foundation’) to evaluate the application of Aridis’ inhaled formulation technology to deliver cost-effective monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against influenza and SARS-CoV2 to people in low- and middle-income countries.

• The mAbs will be manufactured using a novel, spirulina-based platform technology developed by Lumen Bioscience, a funding collaborator for this project. Lumen Bio’s platform offers the ability to produce therapeutic proteins at a fraction of the cost of conventional mammalian cell line technologies.
• Aridis’ formulation technology enables self-administration of prophylactic and therapeutic antibodies directly to the upper or lower airways of the respiratory tract, enhancing the bioavailability of mAbs to the site where respiratory viruses initially infect, replicate, and shed to disseminate through person-to-person transmission
• Inhaled, local delivery substantially reduces the dose required to achieve a therapeutic effect against respiratory viruses (by over 100-fold as compared to intravenous or intramuscular injections), thereby reducing the cost of treatment
• Aridis’ formulation technology has demonstrated the ability to stabilize mAbs at room temperature and can be packaged in a compact powder capsule for delivery from disposable dry powder inhalers

We are gratified to receive support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which underscores the importance of applying advanced inhalation technology to combat infection and transmission of respiratory viruses such as COVID-19 and influenza,” said Vu Truong, Ph.D. CEO of Aridis. “The combination of dose sparing achieved by inhaled delivery and algae sourced mAbs has the potential to dramatically reduce the cost of antiviral treatment and expand the access of mAbs worldwide,” said Truong.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funding award
This award of $1.9m titled ‘Transmission Blockage with Ultra-low Cost Inhaled Antibodies’ funds the preclinical development of stabilized liquid aerosols and room temperature stable inhalable dry powders containing anti-influenza and anti-SARS-CoV2 mAbs that are manufactured from spirulina algae. It also funds animal safety and efficacy testing in virus challenge animal models. Pending the outcome of preliminary results, the Gates Foundation has the option to continue funding through preclinical IND enabling activities and through Phase 1/2a human clinical trial. Aridis collaborators for the funding awards include Lumen Bioscience, the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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