Skip to main content

Kinarus and Noorik awarded federal grants

| News

Kinarus and Noorik awarded federal grants

13.12.2021

The Basel-based biopharmaceutical companies Kinarus and Noorik have been awarded federal grants for their clinical trials investigating drug candidates to combat Covid-19. The drugs are likely to be available by the end of 2022. In total, the Federal Council has agreed development contracts with four Swiss firms.

The two Basel-based biopharmaceutical firms Kinarus and Noorik have been included in a funding program for Covid-19 drugs operated by the Federal Council, the Swiss federal government. According to a press release, the Federal Council is supporting the development of new drugs to the tune of 27 million Swiss francs. In return, the Federal Council will receive a right of first refusal for these drugs, which are likely to be ready by the end of 2022. Similar contracts have also been signed with Memo Therapeutics from Schlieren in the canton of Zurich and GeNeuro based in Plan-les-Ouates in the canton of Geneva.

The investment as part of the federal program for the promotion of Covid-19 drugs in an unspecified amount will facilitate the acceleration of the clinical development of ambrisetan, according to a press release issued by Noorik Biopharmaceuticals, which is based in Basel. The main objective of the ongoing study is to determine whether the vasodilator ambrisetan is able to prevent the progression of respiratory failure in hospitalized Covid-19 patients, which in turn could reduce the need for mechanical ventilation. The contract agreed with the Federal Council should “hopefully make this therapy broadly available as soon as possible”, explains Elmar Schnee, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Noorik, in the company’s press release.

At present, Kinarus AG is carrying out two clinical trials. The first deals with hospitalized Covid-19 patients, while the other is focused on people with mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms. The funding of 7 million Swiss francs from the federal support program will serve to “rapidly advance” both clinical trials, the company based at Technologiepark Basel writes in its own press release. “We believe that KIN001 has the potential to be an effective treatment option in the fight against Covid-19”, explains Matthew Wright, COO and Head of Research at Kinarus, before adding: “This grant award is an exceptional validation of our COVID-19 program at Kinarus”.

Share this article

Sign up to receive our newsletter in your inbox.

You may also be interested in

Nouscom secures 67.5 million euros in financing

Biotech company Nouscom has raised 67.5 million euros in a series C financing round. The Basel-based firm intends to use...
Read More

Celebrating six months of innovation: i4Challenge accelerator New Ideas 2022/2023

On the 5th of July 2023, the 3rd iteration of the i4Challenge accelerator program New Ideas came to its conclusion....
Read More

How open innovation in healthtech hubs is fueling the rise of digital healthcare

How the ever-increasing uptake of digital solutions is enhancing patient engagement, increasing access to care and lowering the cost of...
Read More

Paradigm shift in pain management

Pain is a crucial sensation for survival, but it can also drive us to depression and long-term suffering if not...
Read More

BOOM Summit in Basel accelerates health technology

The BOOM Summit at Messe Basel in April 2024 will be a completely new kind of healthcare conference. The first...
Read More

Investors stump up 3.7 million Swiss francs in Onena Medicines

Onena Medicines has secured an investment of 3.7 million Swiss francs. The portfolio company of the biotech startup incubator BaseLaunch...
Read More

Do you have a question? We'd like to hear from you.