Spartina’s Anti-Viral Therapeutics Making the News
Spartina’s Anti-Viral Therapeutics Making the News
Spartina Biotechnologies, a company supported by the New Mexico Consortium, has recently been highlighted in the news for their work developing a COVID-19 treatment.
According to Dr. Richard Sayre, the treatment has been in development since March. Unlike a vaccine, this approach is designed as a therapeutic medication to be administered after a person has become infected with the virus. The treatment is intended to block viral replication while also triggering a rapid immune response in the patient.
The therapeutic is delivered by injection and is designed to enter cells that have already been infected. Once inside those cells, it works to stop the virus from replicating, helping prevent it from spreading further throughout the body. At the same time, the treatment activates the body’s innate immune system, which is the immune system’s fast-acting first line of defense against infection.
Dr. Sayre explained that this response differs from the type of immune protection generated by vaccines.
“The innate immune response is very different than the type of immune response that’s activated by a vaccine. It’s much faster than a vaccine. Vaccines take weeks to develop sometimes, but the innate immune response is activated within minutes of a virus infection, and what’s been shown is that kids that have a very active innate immune system have better disease outcomes. And in fact, adults that have a fast activated innate immune system also have milder disease symptoms.”
Paul Laur, CEO of Spartina Biotechnologies, said the company is now working in the laboratory to physically produce the treatment. The company expects to move into clinical trials in early spring, with the goal of making the treatment available by the end of next year.
Spartina’s broader goal is to provide a safe, effective, and affordable therapeutic option that could help change the course of COVID-19 and potentially other viral diseases. By targeting viral replication and activating the innate immune system, the company hopes to develop an alternative or complement to vaccine-based strategies.
Researchers from the New Mexico Consortium are supporting Spartina Biotechnologies through modeling and laboratory efforts, contributing scientific expertise to help advance the development of this potential antiviral treatment.
To read more see the KOB4 article, “Santa Fe biotechnology company developing COVID-19 treatment“.