“Leronlimab has both the potential to enhance the cellular immune response by suppressing Treg cells that, in turn, inhibit the anti-viral T-cell responses and the potential to repolarize macrophage activity,” said Bruce Patterson, M.D., chief executive officer and founder of IncellDx, a diagnostic partner and an advisor to CytoDyn. “Lung (alveolar) macrophages in coronavirus infections have been implicated as a contributing factor to significant morbidity and mortality of the infectious disease. Leronlimab could potentially synergize with other retroviral therapies that currently being used for the potential treatment of 2019-nCoV.”

Leronlimab has shown no drug-related serious adverse events in nine clinical trials with more than 800 patients and has been previously used in combination with protease inhibitors used in HIV therapy, which could be potentially used to treat the specific strain of the 2019-nCoV.