Ansun Biopharma opens door for patients to test its medication for certain parainfluenza virus infection

Ansun Biopharma has welcomed the first patient to its Phase 3 clinical trial to test DAS181 a recombinant sialidase protein that can cleave sialic acid, the virus receptors located on the surface of epithelial cells lining the human respiratory track. 

DAS181 should be used for the treatment of hospitalized, immunocompromised patients with lower respiratory tract parainfluenza virus infection.  The drugmaker noted in the announcement on Tuesday that the Phase 3 clinical trial (STOP PIV) is being conducted in multiple study centers throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. 

Dr. Stanley Lewis, Ansun’s Chief Medical Officer said that parainfluenza infection in normal, healthy patients is not a life-threatening disease.  However, he said, in hospitalized, immunocompromised patients who are trying to recover from cancer or an organ transplant, for example, it can cause respiratory complications that may be deadly or cause permanent damage to the lungs, and is an area of unmet medical need.  “There are no approved drugs to treat parainfluenza infection, making DAS181 a potentially first-in-class therapeutic to treat these most vulnerable patients,” he said. 

DAS181 is a recombinant sialidase protein that can cleave sialic acid, the virus receptors located on the surface of epithelial cells lining the human respiratory track.  Treatment with DAS181 can block virus entry into respiratory epithelial cells, thus preventing viral infection and spreading, the company explained in its press release.