Biotechnology company CytoAgents has received a grant from the US’ National Institutes of Health (NIH) to speed-up the development of GP1681 for the potential treatment of cytokine storm caused by Covid-19.
GP1681 is an investigational small molecule being developed to treat severe influenza, said to inhibit cytokine release in activated human immune cells.
This mechanism could help to treat infectious diseases such as influenza and Covid-19, known to be triggered by cytokine storm that causes an excessive immune response to attack the body.
GP1681 was found to safely regulate the natural immune response by mitigating different cytokines and targeting the underlying cause of severe symptoms related to cytokine storm.