Arca Biopharma (ABIO) Announces rNAPc2 COVID-19 Patent Assignment Agreement

ARCA biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABIO) today announced it has entered into a patent assignment agreement with the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. Under the agreement, ARCA receives exclusive world-wide patent rights to the use of rNAPc2 as a potential treatment for COVID-19, and other indications, based on the research and discoveries from the laboratory of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfram Ruf, the Scientific Director and Alexander von Humboldt Professor at the Center for Thrombosis and Hemostasis (CTH) of the University Medical Center Mainz.

rNAPc2 is a recombinant protein therapeutic being developed by ARCA as a potential treatment for COVID-19 and other severe viral infections. ASPEN-COVID-19 is an on-going Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating rNAPc2 as a potential treatment for patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated the investigation of rNAPc2 as a potential treatment for COVID-19 as a Fast Track development program.

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ruf commented, “We believe our research, combined with the accumulating evidence on the clinical importance of large and small vessel thromboses in COVID-19 infected patients, points to a potentially important role for the tissue factor pathway in viral infection, inflammatory response and the development of coagulopathy. Based on its unique modulation of the tissue factor pathway and the evidence from its prior development, we believe rNAPc2 has the potential to be a beneficial therapy for patients with COVID-19.”

Dr. Michael Bristow, ARCA’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Dr. Ruf and the researchers at the University Medical Center Mainz to advance the development of rNAPc2 as a potential treatment for patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Despite the availability of vaccines and with the emergence of multiple variants, patients around the world continue to experience severe cases of COVID-19 that require hospitalization. We believe rNAPc2’s combination of anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties give it the potential to be effective in addressing the impact of COVID-19 from multiple pathways. As a potential therapeutic aimed at a host response to a disease syndrome, we believe rNAPc2 has therapeutic potential to be used for future viral outbreaks beyond the current pandemic, even as safe and effective vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 are successfully deployed.”

Under the Agreement with the University Medical Center Mainz, ARCA also obtains an option to acquire world-wide patent rights to discoveries related to the use of rNAPc2 as a potential therapeutic for auto-immune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus, that involve the presence of anti-phospholipid antibodies linked to tissue factor, as well as the option to acquire patent rights for discoveries relating to other therapeutic uses of rNAPc2. Under the Agreement, ARCA has potential upfront and milestone obligations that could total approximately €1.6 million and royalty obligations in the low single digit range, if rNAPc2 receives regulatory approval and is commercialized.

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