Fields of application |
Asapiprant (BGE-175) is a potent and specific antagonist of human PGD2/PTGDR signaling with Ki of 0.44 nM. BGE-175 is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial to test whether it can prevent disease progression and mortality in older patients hospitalized with COVID-19.In the study, daily doses of BGE-175 prevented death in aged mice infected with a lethal dose of SARS-CoV-2. Ninety percent of mice that received the drug survived, whereas all untreated control mice died. BGE-175 treatment was initiated two days after infection, when the mice were already ill, mirroring a situation in which a patient receives medication only after developing symptoms.In both humans and animals, immune function declines with age, increasing the severity of COVID-19 in people over 65 [2–4]. Unlike antivirals currently being investigated to treat COVID-19, BGE-175 corrects these age-related immune deficits rather than targeting the infecting pathogen. The drug acts by inhibiting the PGD2 DP1 protein, which BioAge’s AI-based, human-centric discovery platform has identified as a key target for immune aging. Through this pathway, BGE-175 boosts dendritic cells that help the body identify pathogens and decreases neutrophil infiltration that leads to damaging inflammation, thus combating the decline in immunity that makes older people more vulnerable to infection. |