Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel anti-infective therapies to treat life-threatening bacterial infections, announced the enrollment of its first COVID-19 patient in the Company’s ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of AR-301, a monoclonal antibody against S. aureus induced pneumonia in patients who were already on mechanical ventilators.
COVID-19 patients on prolonged mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU) are prone to secondary infections (also called ‘superinfections’) by opportunistic pathogens such as bacteria. Superinfection is a reported complication in COVID-19 patients, which exacerbates morbidity and rate of mortality. The Company’s ongoing AR-301 Phase 3 study allows for the enrollment of patients with baseline characteristics which are inclusive of certain COVID-19 patients. “While AR-301 does not treat the virus that causes COVID-19 disease, it can potentially mitigate secondary S. aureus bacterial pneumonia, which represents a serious coronavirus complication and a cause of death in such patients,” said Vu Truong, Chief Executive Officer.
The AR-301 Phase 3 clinical study was initiated in the first quarter of 2019 and is expected to enroll 240 patients at approximately 160 clinical centers in 22 countries. The trial represents the first ever Phase 3 superiority clinical study evaluating immunotherapy with a fully human monoclonal antibody to treat acute S. aureus bacterial pneumonia in mechanically ventilated ICU patients.
About Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discovers and develops anti-infectives to be used as add-on treatments to standard-of-care antibiotics. The Company is utilizing its proprietary APEX™ and MabIgX® technology platforms to rapidly identify rare, potent antibody-producing B-cells from patients who have successfully overcome an infection, and to manufacture mAbs for therapeutic treatment of critical infections. These mAbs are already of human origin and functionally optimized for high potency by the donor’s immune system; hence, they do not require genetic engineering or further optimization to achieve full functionality.
