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Revive Therapeutics announces appointment of Dr John Fahy as Scientific and Clinical advisor to the company

Published: 12:40 31 Dec 2020 GMT

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Dr Fahy is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco and is a director of UCSF’s severe asthma clinic

Revive Therapeutics Ltd. (CSE:RVV) (OTCMKTS:RVVTF) (FRA:31R), a specialty life sciences company focused on the research and development of therapeutics for medical needs and rare disorders, has announced the appointment of Dr John Fahy as a Scientific and Clinical advisor to the company. 

He will assist in the expansion and analysis of the clinical data on the ongoing US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Bucillamine in patients with mild-moderate coronavirus (COVID-19). 

Dr Fahy is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco and is a director of UCSF’s severe asthma clinic.

READ: Revive Therapeutics Ltd set to hit enrollment goals for Phase 3 coronavirus trial of Bucillamine

He also cares for critically ill patients in the intensive care units and directs the UCSF Airway Clinical Research Center. His research receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and various foundations, as well as contracts from biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in disease mechanisms of asthma, cystic fibrosis and other airway diseases. Fahy earned his medical degree at the University College Dublin.

Dr Fahy is the author of a recently published study, titled 'Thiol-based drugs decrease binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to its receptor and inhibit SARS-CoV-2 cell entry' showing that thiol-based drugs, like Bucillamine, decrease the binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to its receptor, decrease the entry efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped virus, and inhibit SARS-CoV-2 live virus infection. 

The findings uncovered a vulnerability of SARS-CoV-2 to thiol-based drugs and provide rationale to test thiol-based drugs as novel treatments for COVID-19.

Bucillamine, a cysteine derivative with two thiol groups, has been shown to be 16 times more potent as a thiol donor in vivo than N-acetyl-cysteine. Bucillamine has a well-known safety profile with over 30 years of use as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in Japan and South Korea.

“Dr Fahy is a distinguished clinical researcher with thiol-based drugs, such as Bucillamine, and his understanding of its mechanism of action and how it relates to SARS-CoV-2 will be valuable in assessing our interim analysis of our FDA Phase 3 study,” said Michael Frank, CEO of Revive in a statement.

Dr Fahy added: “I look forward to serving as a scientific and clinical advisor to Revive to evaluate the utility of Bucillamine as a novel treatment for COVID-19.”

Revive is a life sciences company focused on the research and development of therapeutics for infectious diseases and rare disorders, and it is prioritizing drug development efforts to take advantage of several regulatory incentives awarded by the FDA such as Orphan Drug, Fast Track, Breakthrough Therapy and Rare Pediatric Disease designations. 

Currently, the company is exploring the use of Bucillamine for the potential treatment of infectious diseases, with an initial focus on severe influenza and COVID-19. 

With its recent acquisition of Psilocin Pharma Corp., Revive is advancing the development of Psilocybin-based therapeutics in various diseases and disorders. 

Revive’s cannabinoid pharmaceutical portfolio focuses on rare inflammatory diseases and the company was granted FDA orphan drug status designation for the use of Cannabidiol (CBD) to treat autoimmune hepatitis (liver disease) and to treat ischemia and reperfusion injury from organ transplantation.

Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com

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