First patient in new COVID-19 drug trial treated in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – A patient in Louisville was the first to receive an injection in a national study in the continuing battle against COVID-19.

The patient was treated at UofL Health – Jewish Hospital.

The treatment, called Quellor, has shown promise when it comes to preventing pulmonary complications from progressing due to COVID-19, according to a INmune Bio.

Quellor is being developed by La Jolla-based INmune Bio and is an injection given at hospitals.

Research has shown a cytokine called soluble tumor necrosis factor, or sTNF, triggers pathways linked to inflammation and blood clotting in the lungs.

According to INmune Bio, Quellor is a next-generation selective inhibitor of sTNF that may calm cytokine overreactions.

“Clinical evidence over the last several months has shown that while infection with COVID-19 virus makes people sick, it’s the uncontrollable immune response and subsequent cytokine storm that is responsible for their admission to a hospital,” INmune Bio chief executive officer RJ Tesi said. “By neutralizing TNF, the master inflammatory cytokine of the cytokine storm with Quellor, we believe Quellor™ can blunt the symptoms of this dysregulated immune response. This US based clinical trial expands both our geographic and therapeutic footprint with our DN-TNF platform.”

The study will enroll 366 COVID-19 high risk patients and is a double blind, randomized, placebo controlled Phase 2 clinical trial.