African American Drug Company Announces Possible Treatment For Coronavirus

Ennaid Therapeutics, a

Georgia-based pharmaceutical company is advancing the development of an antiviral drug that they claim may potentially fight coronavirus cases, and which would be more easily administered to patients suffering with the disease.

According to BET, Darnisha Harrison, founder, and CEO of Ennaid Therapeutics, one of the first African American women to start a major drug company, announced that the company filed a patent and are seeking FDA approval.

Scientists working there created a drug called ENU200 that could treat as much as 80 percent of asymptomatic, mild to moderate COVID-19 infections.

“Our science strongly suggests that ENU200, a repurposed drug with a well-established clinical and safety profile, has the potential to be a broad solution to address the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Harrison in a company statement.

“Unlike other COVID-19 drugs in development, which must be administered via injection or intravenously under the care of a physician, ENU200 can be administered orally, thus enabling in-home treatment for COVID-19 infections.”

ENU200 had already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a different purpose and is no longer prescribed, but scientific modeling shows that it can deliver antiviral activity to the proteins that make up COVID-19.

Officials at Ennaid Therapeutics say they are hoping the FDA will fast track the drug through its emergency process to run a clinical trial of patients before bringing it to market.

Harrison told Baton Rouge, news station WBRZ that she is anticipating that clinical trials could be as soon as 90 days away. “The clinical trial itself could take a month. We feel quite optimistic that in the 120-day window, when our clinical material would be ready, we could have a drug that could be safe and effective at treating COVID-19.”

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