By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Pardes Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:PRDS) expects to start a mid-to-late stage trial of its new Covid-19 antiviral pill by mid-year, the company said Monday.
The announcement saw the company's shares initially climb to a high of $12.83 at the open, but they have since given up those gains and more, currently trading down 1.3%.
The news follows the company receiving promising data from early human testing. Data from an ongoing early-stage trial shows that if taken twice daily, the pill, PBI-0451, can trigger antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and any of its emerging variants.
Pardes said no serious adverse events were reported, with only mild side effects, which were resolved quickly. The company added that the drug was well tolerated during trials.
The drug is in the same class of medicine as Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)'s nirmatrelvir, which is designed to prevent coronavirus replicating in human cells.
"We are highly encouraged by these initial Phase 1 observations, which support continued development of PBI-0451 as a potential stand-alone antiviral therapy for the treatment and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infections," said Uri Lopatin, chief executive officer of Pardes.