Pharmaceutical company Sound Pharmaceuticals Inc (SPI) reported on Monday the receipt of approval from the US FDA for the launch of two Phase 2 studies to test the use of ebselen (SPI-1005) in COVID-19 patients.

According to the company, it is developing SPI-1005, a novel anti-inflammatory drug which was recently shown to inhibit nCoV2 activity and viral replication. SPI-1005 is an investigational new drug that contains ebselen, a novel small molecule that mimics and induces the activity of Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) in the inner ear, retina, brain, lung and kidney.

About 120 adults with moderate or severe disease will be enrolled in two randomized, double-bind, placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) and treated for seven or 14 days with the oral drug, added the company.

The company will utilize non-clinical and pre-clinical services programme from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for the expanded testing of ebselen both in vitro and in vivo, including a unique live animal model of COVID-19 transmission.