Antisense Therapeutics Limited advised of outcomes from its collaboration to study the neurological aspects of Long COVID-19 (Long Neuro COVID-19) with US based researchers led by global leader in the field, Dr. Igor Koralnik, at the Northwestern Medicine Neuro-COVID clinic in Chicago, USA. The study has elucidated novel blood markers as potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets in the treatment of Long COVID-19 patients. Three (3) provisional patent applications have been filed in the US to seek protection for these new inventions.

Under the collaboration, blood samples that had been collected from Long COVID-19 patients who had not been hospitalized (focused on those with neurological symptoms including brain fog, where blood immune cell changes were observed1), were used to generate data on up to 7,000 proteins in the blood utilising a large-scale protein analysis known as proteomics. Industry leading proteomics group Somalogic in Boulder Colorado USA undertook the analysis, successfully testing the samples using their SomaScan® assay and then the data was statistically analyzed using their Dataviz program. The analyzed data has identified a number of proteins that are significantly modulated in the blood of Long Neuro COVID-19 patients when compared to convalescent subjects who had recovered from Long COVID-19 infection with no persistent symptoms and to healthy subjects.

This data has been included in recently filed patent applications as potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets for the treatment of Long COVID-19. Certain targets when combined (as few as 5) identified all 48 Neuro Covid-19 patients and the 42 of 44 subjects who were convalescent or healthy controls suggestive of these targets' diagnostic potential. A number of targets (<15) have been identified as potentially amenable to treatment by currently available drugs or other therapeutic approaches on the market.

The mechanisms of action of those drugs are known to modulate the discovered target proteins, therefore the marketers/developers of those drugs have been identified as initial prospects for partnering interest. A smaller number of diagnostic markers have been detected that could assist in the identification of Neuro Long Covid patients for better designed clinical trials and potentially for earlier treatment intervention. Accordingly, the Company also plans to review its newly generated intellectual property (IP) with targeted pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies for potential commercial discussions, noting that for these discussions to progress, the Company and potential partner companies would need to agree on licensing and/or joint development of this newly generated IP to advance as either diagnostic or therapeutic programs. Of the 94.7 million people in the US diagnosed as infected and surviving COVID-193, approximately 82 million (87%) people are non-hospitalized4, and 45% of non-hospitalized patients5 have developed some manifestation of Long COVID-19 syndrome which suggests more than 24 million people are afflicted by the condition to some extent.

The main neurological symptom is brain fog (defined with the established memory tests conducted) and reported in 81% suggesting an impact on nearly 20 million people in the US.