The next possible landmark COVID drug is so rich in Memphis DNA that if approved by the FDA, patent royalty checks will immediately flow to town, a legacy of the defunct GTx pharmaceutical company and scientists at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center who created the structure.
In a late-stage clinical trial halted last week because the results were indisputable, the drug sabizabulin reduced COVID-19 deaths among hospitalized patients by 55%, compared to those receiving a placebo. It works as an antiviral and an anti-inflammatory, the first COVID treatment to bridge both siloes.
