Unless I missed one?

Remember those two articles that touched on Apabetalone and COVID from a while back?

The one that identified 69 candidates: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.22.002386v1 

and the other one from Nature that sort of summarized it: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41587-020-00013-z

Thinking about this part of the one from Nature again:

"Bromodomain inhibitors could also be deployed to interrupt another interaction identified in the Nature paper, between SARS-CoV-2 transmembrane envelope protein (E) and BRD2 and/or BRD4. “This potential mechanism of action could be relevant in the context of the secondary immune-related consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection,” says Andy Conery, director of Functional Genomics at Constellation Pharmaceuticals. Those bromodomain inhibitors already in the clinic include Resverlogix’s apabetalone, in phase 3 trials for cancer and phase 1 for pulmonary arterial hypertension; AbbVie’s ABBV-744, in phase 1 for cancer; and Constellation Pharmaceuticals’ CPI-0610, in phase 2 for cancer.

Overall, though, the lack of selectivity of most small-molecule epigenetic modulators means that side effects are likely to count against their progress in the context of COVID-19. According to Ricky Johnstone of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and University of Melbourne, Australia, “the notion of selectively targeting HDAC-2 as a COVID-19 therapy would be very difficult to prosecute at the moment.”

Wondering (a few things) - first whether anyone responded to Nature about Apabetalone being selective. Don't see any comments, but that may be because am not subscribed.

Also wondering what the current status is.  - As of June 10th, the status was:

"Now let’s discuss the progress and the future. Let’s start with the topic that rules all of our lives 24-7 these days. COVID-19. Please keep in mind that this is not our main project, but it could have huge potential In the future.

 The whole story is based on the power of epigenetics. In February, when it started the COVID-19 [on this side of the world], it became very clear to the world that a pandemic was upon us. And a very prominent consortium of 22 international universities started their own Manhattan-like project to hopefully solve the COVID-19 problem as early as possible. They first studied the virus to understand its makeup, ultimately understanding that it’s comprised of about 30 various proteins. They then studied 20,000 known drugs to see which one would have a positive impact on COVID-19. On March 23rd, they published a list of only 63 drugs that they felt could have an impact. Apabetalone was prominently included on that list. The publication even went as far as highlighting the involvement of BRD2 and 4, our exact target, in the coronavirus interaction.

In the mere two and a half months since the information reached our ears, we’ve had some very solid advancement towards future programs. The consortium’s next step was to run simple cell assays to determine if any of the 63 drugs would have an anti-viral impact on primate cells. Some of those tested and showed as much as a 400% increase in virus present instead of a reduction. Our showed no change and no safety issues. Their test was mainly for anti-virals, and we are not an anti-viral, that we know of. Our drug’s mechanism is different, as its epigenetic potential can stop or slow the virus from replicating, as opposed to killing the virus outright. This is the equivalent of sterilizing mosquitoes as opposed to using DDT to kill them. The long term results could be very positive. The consortium’s tests were done in Vervet – that’s an African Green Monkey, which is an animal that Resverlogix has extensive experience with. We’re also aware that the Vervet’s bromodomain system is differentiated from [that of] humans. Therefore we compiled our extensive data and applied for COVID-19 study funding from various groups. With third-party funding in place now, we are currently moving forward with studies on human lung and related human lung tissues. These cells are instead of the monkey kidney cells. These studies will aid us in forwarding our plans for human clinical trials involving COVID-19. Our primary goal will be to show there’s a reduction of the viral load in patients, as well as a swifter recovery time from hospitalization.

We view this as a program with large future potential, as most seasonal flus and the common cold are corona-virus-related. If we can prove reduction or impact of corona-virus-related issues, we may have discovered a potentially huge new market for seasonal flus. We are not a vaccine and we are not an ant-viral, but we can stop virus replicating. That could have a huge impact."

SOoooo..... Given the rush to find cure, vaccine, or even mitigation for COVID - Also wondering how long before we get some sort of update on lung tissue studies?

How long would the studies take? Might there need to be several rounds as they try different approaches, or is there essentially only one approach? They don't require the same level of scrutiny that human investigations do, but then there may still be a wait while results are published - if they will be.  Will we hear regardless of outcome, or only if the news is worthy of fanfare?

Though it seems like forever, it has not quite been a month and a half since last science update. Maybe not enough time to run a trial (even with tissue) get a result, write an article, send it to a journal, get it accepted, and get it to print.  But still.....

Wondering.  Want update. Anyone heard or seen anything?

Sorry if too redundant. Rarely get time to check the forum these days.

Hoping you all remain healthy.

Cheers.