Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel anti-infective therapies to treat life-threatening infections, announced today that its COVID-19 mAb cocktail AR-712 binds and neutralizes the Delta variant virus SARS-CoV-2 at a highly effective level (~20ng/mL). Binding analyses project that AR-712 will be effective against all variants on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's Variants of Interest and Variants of Concern lists.      

The dual antibody cocktail will be delivered as an inhaled treatment and is expected to provide broad coverage of all known high-risk variants. In addition, Aridis is pleased to announce the preclinical development services support from NIAID (NIH) provided further demonstration of strong therapeutic efficacy of inhaled delivery in a SARS-CoV-2 hamster challenge model. This achieved reversal of disease in infected animals at an inhaled dose of 1mg/kg, equivalent to a 10mg dose in humans from a nebulizer. These results confirmed the Company's efficacy studies showing highly efficient dosing by inhalation. For reference purposes, the dose of commercially available COVID antibody therapies is currently in the range of 500mg to 1,200mg.   

AR-712 is being developed as a self-administered, at-home inhaled treatment for COVID-19 patients who are not yet hospitalized. The product candidate is designed to substantially lower the barrier to treatment of COVID-19 patients and encourage treatment much earlier in the course of their disease within the patients' own homes.

The Company remains on track to finalize the Phase 1/2/3 design for this program and initiate the clinical study in 2H 2021.