PharmaMar says its drug Aplidin could treat COVID-19

Shares of Spanish drugmaker PharmaMar (MC: PHM) rose nearly 15% on Tuesday, after the company revealed it has a potential treatment for coronavirus.

In response to the news that appeared in the media after the press conference called by the company, PharmaMar reported to the stock exchange that it has a therapeutic compound Aplidin (plitidepsin), approved in Australia for the treatment of multiple myeloma, which by its mechanism of action could be effective in treating the current outbreak of COVID-19.

This hypothesis is based on scientific publications that show that the virus (its N nucleoprotein) needs the EF1A protein, present in human cells infected by the virus, to reproduce and/or spread within them. Aplidin would block EF1A and make the reproduction of the virus inside the cell unfeasible. Based on this hypothesis, PharmaMar plans to carry out the corresponding laboratory confirmation tests during the next month. If results confirming this hypothesis are obtained, they will be forwarded to the competent regulatory authorities to decide on the next steps to be taken, in order to continue development in this indication.