OCALA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / September 16, 2020 / AIM ImmunoTech Inc. (NYSE American:AIM) today announced that recruitment has begun in Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center's Phase 1/2a clinical study of the effectiveness of rintatolimod (Ampligen) in combination with interferon alpha-2b in treating cancer patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 infection, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Roswell Park has reported through the national clinical-trials database ClinicalTrials.gov that recruitment is underway for the study, which is led by two senior leaders at the Buffalo, N.Y., cancer center: Brahm Segal, MD, and Pawel Kalinski, MD, PhD.

The study team describes their approach this way, as reported at ClinicalTrials.gov: 'Interferon alpha is a protein important for defense against viruses. It activates immune responses that help to clear viral infection. Rintatolimod is double stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) designed to mimic viral infection by stimulating immune pathways that are normally activated during viral infection. Giving rintatolimod and interferon alpha-2b may activate the immune system to limit the replication and spread of the virus.'

Approximately 6.4 million people in the United States have been infected with COVID-19 and more than 190,000 have died.

'This trial reflects our ability to apply unique insights developed over the course of 20 years of work in cancer immunotherapy toward new strategies of engaging the innate immune system against virally mediated diseases,' said Dr. Kalinski, scientific lead on the study and principal architect of this strategy as a treatment for both cancer and COVID-19. 'Although this trial focuses on the treatment of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, it is our hope that our findings may also have relevance for treatment of other RNA viruses, including such common pathogens as influenza, HIV and several oncogenic viruses.'

'Reducing replication of the virus may lead to less severe illness among patients at high risk for COVID-19 complications,' added Dr. Segal, who is Chair of Internal Medicine and Chief of Infectious Diseases at Roswell Park, and clinical lead on this study.

Funding for the Roswell Park clinical trial is provided, in part, through grants from the National Cancer Institute and AIM, as well as institutional support from Roswell Park.

For more information about this study, including eligibility criteria, please contact Roswell Park by phone at 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or by e-mail to [email protected].

About AIM ImmunoTech Inc.

AIM ImmunoTech Inc. is an immuno-pharma company focused on the research and development of therapeutics to treat multiple types of cancers, immune disorders and viral diseases, including COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Contacts:

Crescendo Communications, LLC
Phone: 212-671-1021
Email: [email protected]

AIM ImmunoTech Inc
Phone: 800-778-4042
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: AIM ImmunoTech Inc.