Sorrento Reports It Has a Second Potential Antidote for COVID-19

On Friday, Sorrento Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRNE) announced positive results from preclinical testing of STI-4398, a protein to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The company said that the drug candidate it has nicknamed "Covidtrap" completely inhibited the ability of the coronavirus to infect cells that have the same ACE2 receptors that are present on the respiratory epithelial cells that it targets in humans. The company has discussed the drug with the Food and Drug Administration and has received guidance for advancing it both as a treatment for patients infected with the virus and as a prophylactic measure for preventing COVID-19.