"A little surprised though that the CKD and dementia trials will be Phase 2 and not Phase 3, plus no mention of HIV."

Since they've never performed a Phase 2 clincial trial with the primary endpoint being a renal function or cognition/dementia endpoint, it is not surprising to me that they would be starting in Phase 2 for these. The desired patient populations for a focused renal trial and focused dementia/cognition trial are going to be quite different than that of past Phase 2/3 apabetalone trials, so need to pass the Phase 2 benchmarks first with new patient population before Phase 3. Plus, the secondary/exploratory/post-hoc renal function and cognition data from Phase 2/3 trials is encouraging, but not very strong. Phase 2 would help bolster confidence before committing to bigger, longer and more expensive Phase 3. 

As for HIV......have we heard anything since this news release 2 years ago?

"Also, if a covid phase 2 trial is "planned" does that mean they are skipping animal experients?"

Not necessarily. Animal experiments may be ongoing or may occur concurrently with human trial.

BDAZ