Partner Therapeutics procures contract to test COVID-related therapeutic

LEXINGTON, Mass.—Partner Therapeutics, Inc. has announced a $35 million agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to fund two clinical studies of inhaled Leukine (sargramostim, rhu-Granulocyte Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor [rhuGM-CSF]) in patients with COVID-19 associated acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF).

 

“GM-CSF is essential for lung health. Emerging data suggest that COVID-19 is associated with immune dysfunction, including deficiency of alveolar macrophages and GM-CSF,” said Dr. Debasish Roychowdhury, chief medical officer at PTx. “Treatment with Leukine may confer benefit to patients with acute respiratory distress and potentially reduce long term complications. We are grateful to the DOD’s JPEO-CBRND for supporting this effort to assess the potential role of Leukine to treat patients with severe COVID-19 infection. Effective, safe and easily-administered treatments that halt or reverse the progression of the disease and reduce the risk of long term complications represent an area of significant unmet need in treatment of COVID-19.”

 

Through the DOD’s Chemical Biological Defense Program COVID-19 efforts, the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) will evaluate the effect of Leukine in improving clinical outcomes, including oxygenation and percent of patients intubated. The first of the two clinical studies will be initiated this August in the U.S., and will be conducted under an Investigational New Drug application approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 20.

 

The milestone-based Firm Fixed Price agreement with the JPEO-CBRND will fund two Phase 2 studies to assess Leukine in the treatment of patients with acute hypoxemia due to COVID-19. Funding will also support regulatory filings for a potential Emergency Use Authorization filing, and expansion of production capacity to meet increased demand.

 

The first of the two clinical studies will commence in August, and will supplement data from more than 60 patients who have completed treatment in the SARPAC study (sargramostim in patients with acute hypoxic respiratory failure due to COVID-19) clinical trial, currently underway at five hospitals in Belgium. The SARPAC study is the first randomized, controlled clinical trial to assess the benefits of Leukine via inhalation in the treatment of COVID-19.  In May, Singapore General Hospital also initiated a study of intravenous Leukine in COVID-19 patients.

 

“The DOD’s support enhances Partner Therapeutics’ efforts to rapidly advance the study of Leukine as a treatment to halt COVID disease progression and mitigate long-term organ damage and other complications. Leukine has a proven safety profile and there is clinical evidence indicating that it could confer benefit to patients with acute hypoxemia from COVID-19 infection,” noted John McManus, chief business officer of PTx. “We look forward to working with JPEO-CBRND to deliver our milestones expeditiously under this agreement. The potential utility for COVID patients highlights Leukine’s promise as a broad-spectrum, dual-use medical countermeasure.”

  

Leukine is FDA-approved for the treatment of acute radiation syndrome, and is held in the Strategic National Stockpile. Leukine was first approved by the FDA in 1991, and has an established safety profile based on treatment in more than 500,000 patients. 

 

“We are pleased to work with Partner Therapeutics and excited about the prospects of repurposing already FDA-approved medical countermeasures for the fight against COVID-19,” added Col. Ryan Eckmeier, JPEO-CBRND’s Joint Project Manager for CBRN Medical. “Proving a repurposing framework for treating acute hypoxemic respiratory failure is particularly useful to our core mission of protecting our nation’s warfighters from CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear] threats, as AHRF is a condition which can also occur with exposure to other CBRN agents.”