Targeting Covid-19 with a Therapeutic Interfering Particle

SUMMARYThe Covid-19 pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently
the most important public health crisis in the world. Given the unprecedented scope of this disease, it is critical
to explore novel strategies to mitigate this crisis. Aleph Therapeutics and UCSF have jointly developed eTIP1,
a Therapeutic Interfering Particle. eTIP1 was developed under a DARPA-funded program and shows potent
broad-spectrum activity across enteroviruses (Poliovirus Type 1 and 3, EVA71, and Coxsackievirus B3) as well
as respiratory viruses EV-D68/HRV-87, Rhinovirus A16 and A1B, and Influenza A. Recently we have shown
that eTIP1 significantly inhibits replication of SARS-CoV-2 both in cell culture and in K18-ACE2 mice. Given
these results, it is critical to thoroughly evaluate eTIP1 as a potential agent against SARS-CoV-2. This work
could be the starting point for a potential therapy or prophylactic agent against SARS-CoV-2. This would also
represent a significant breakthrough for the development of a broad-spectrum antiviral agent that could
potentially target current and future viral threats.NARRATIVEThe Covid-19 pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently
the most important public health crisis in the world. Aleph Therapeutics and UCSF have jointly developed
eTIP1, a Therapeutic Interfering Particle, that shows potent broad-spectrum activity against several respiratory
viruses. Preliminary results indicate that eTIP1 significantly inhibits replication of SARS-CoV-2 both in cell
culture and in K18-ACE2 mice and the goal of this proposal is to thoroughly evaluate eTIP1 as a potential
agent against SARS-CoV-2.