Sorrento To Start Late-Stage Trial Of Abivertinib In Critically-Ill COVID-19 Patients

• The FDA has signed off Sorrento Therapeutics Inc's (NASDAQ:SRNE) Phase 3 trial of abivertinib in severe COVID-19 patients. 
• The clinical trial will be conducted in 2 phases, and the initial run-in will define the recommended Phase 3 Dose. 
• In October last year, Sorrento released preliminary results of two phase 2 studies that seemed to show that patients hospitalized with severe pneumonia due to COVID-19 were up to 5-fold more likely to benefit from Abivertinib therapy than those patients who required low flow supplementation. 
• Also See: Sorrento's Chimeric mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Shows Preclinical Action Against Omicron Variants.
• The study will be conducted at multiple sites in the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil.
• Abivertinib is an oral small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets epidermal growth factor receptor and Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK). It can potentially reduce cytokine storms associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in severely hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
• Price Action: SRNE shares are down 0.84% at $2.35 during the market session on the last check Thursday.