Shares in Dimerix Ltd (ASX: DXB) are soaring today, shooting up 9% in early trade. At the time of writing, the Dimerix share price has retreated slightly and is now trading at 30 cents apiece, up 7.4%.
Below we take a look at the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company's announcement on COVID-19 treatment that looks to be driving investor interest.
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What COVID-19 announcement did Dimerix make?
The Dimerix share price is rocketing after the company reported that Indian regulatory agency – the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (DCGI) – has formally recommended approval of the DMX-200 clinical study in COVID-19 patients.
DMX-200 is Dimerix's lead drug candidate, developed to potentially treat focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), respiratory problems relating to COVID-19, and diabetic kidney disease.
According to the release, numerous clinical sites in India are ready to start recruitment in the feasibility/Phase 3 clinical study of DMX-200 to treat COVID-related respiratory complications.
The DCGI regulatory approval was the final one required before launching the CLARITY 2.0 study. Dimerix expects the first of what may be 600 participants to be dosed inside the next few weeks. The company is still awaiting receipt of the approval permit to move forward.
What did management say?
Commenting on the progress, Dimerix's CEO Nina Webster said:
We are extremely pleased to be in a position to potentially treat COVID-19 patients suffering debilitating respiratory complications, through both the CLARITY 2.0 study as well as the REMAP-CAP study currently recruiting in Europe…
[I]f DMX-200 does show benefit in respiratory complications associated with COVID-19, it may also show benefit in respiratory complications associated with other infections too, such as pneumonia and influenza. Thus, this provides an opportunity that could extend well beyond the impact of COVID-19.
The study is being led by Professor Meg Jardine, director of the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre at The University of Sydney, along with Professor Vivek Jha and The George Institute for Global Health India.
Dimerix share price snapshot
With today's intraday gains factored in, the Dimerix share price is up 39% over the past 12 months. By comparison the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) gained 27% over that same period.
Dimerix shares are currently trading 2% higher than this time last month.
