Lactiga announced a collaboration agreement with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to advance preclinical research into LCTG-001 as a potential treatment for COVID-19 patients. The collaborative team, led by Dr Rebecca Powell, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), secured an NIH R01 Emergency Award of $2 million dollars to expand this study.

“We are proud to partner with Mount Sinai, which has maintained a leading role in COVID-19 research and innovation. We believe this collaboration will help us deliver a novel intervention to counteract this devastating virus,” said Dr Viraj Mane, Lactiga’s Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer.

Reportedly, to date, preliminary in vitro studies demonstrate full neutralisation of SARS-CoV-2 viral components. Lactiga has engaged the United States Food and Drug Administration through the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program to optimise its transition from research toward first-in-human clinical testing.

Dr Rikin Mehta, Co-Founder and Partner stated, “We see promise in a novel therapeutic that may help COVID-positive patients reduce their hospital stay and slow the progression of the disease, especially in our elderly and vulnerable populations.”