Chicago Biotech Company Testing Its Monoclonal Antibody to Treat COVID-19

Chicago, IL --- May 5, 2020 ---SIWA Therapeutics, a Chicago-based, pre-clinical biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it is testing the ability of its humanized monoclonal antibody, SIWA 318H (the SIWA “mAb”) to directly target virally infected cells, including specifically, COVID-19.  The SIWA mAb selectively targets cells having: an abnormally high level of glycolysis (known as the Warburg effect in cancer) and oxidative stress; such cells include specifically cancer cells, senescent cells (“SCs”), and virally infected cells, including those infected by COVID-19.  The  SIWA-identified biomarker targeted by the SIWA monoclonal antibody (SWIA mAb) is a side product of glycolysis. 


 

SIWA initially has been focused on aggressive cancers, however, COVID-19’s elevated risk of severe disease and death, particularly among the elderly, led it to test its mAb as a potential treatment of COVID-19. Pending testing results, which are currently ongoing, development of an effective vaccine could follow. 

"This is an early but promising effort to find a treatment for viral diseases, which could curb the spread of viral disease like COVID-19 and become a part of the arsenal for future viral pandemics," stated Lewis S. Gruber, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer. "The cells that become infected with a virus, including COVID-19, switch the infected cells’ energy production to glycolysis, i.e the Warburg Effect, which in turn produces the marker targeted by SIWA’s mAb.  The marker also appears on immune system cells that have become senescent or inactive. Removal of those senescent immune system cells could also boost the immune system in the elderly to better fight disease," adds Gruber.

SIWA will seek a partner for testing its mAb as an effective therapy for immunosuppression. Additionally, SIWA previously showed that an anti-dysfunctional cell vaccine produced a high amount of specific antibodies in mice, which could be a basis for a vaccine. If successful, the intent is to move one or more of these to animal research and human trials. 

SIWA Therapeutics is currently working with an internationally recognized research institute to conduct IND-enabling animal studies of SIWA 318H in pancreatic cancer and was recently named in MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2020, recognized as one of the key players in the search for anti-aging drugs.

About SIWA Therapeutics, Inc.


 

SIWA Therapeutics, Inc is developing pharmaceuticals to increase healthspan; our initial focus on aggressive cancers that may qualify for FDA fast-tracking. Our primary product is a proprietary humanized monoclonal antibody (“mAb”) that selectively targets for destruction dysfunctional cells that accumulate with aging and become causal factors in aging-related disease. These dysfunction cells, which include specifically cancer cells and senescent cells (“SCs”). They also include virally infected cells, including those infected by COVID 19, have an abnormally high level of glycolysis (the Warburg effect) and oxidative stress. SIWA believes that its mAb could slow, halt or reverse diseases such as cancer,  chronic kidney disease and infectious diseases, like coronavirus infections, which differentially affect the elderly. We believe SIWA 318H is the first comprehensive cancer therapy as it uniquely removes cancer cells as well as the SCs that stimulate, feed, and protect them. In February 2020, SIWA was named a “key player” in Anti-Aging Drugs by the MIT Technology Review in its prestigious list of the 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2020. In September 2018, Forbes named SIWA as one of 3 senolytics companies to watch (“Senolytic Therapies and the Quest to Cure Aging”). More information is available at www.siwatherapeutics.com or follow us on Twitter.


 


 

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