Four start-ups recently joined forces as “BEAT-COV” to collectively develop suitable medicines for treating COVID-19 patients. One of the four young companies is Jena-based InflaRx N.V. This biopharmaceutical firm, which was established in 2007 and also maintains sites in Munich and Ann Arbor, Michigan, has developed a proprietary monoclonal antibody technology for effectively treating life-threatening inflammatory diseases that may develop in the course of a COVID-19 infection. This medicine is in a highly advanced and promising phase of clinical development, as are the drugs developed by AiCuris, Atriva and Immunic, the three other BEAT-COV co-founders. One part of the InfectControl network also focuses on the development of a therapeutic concept for treating patients infected with SARSCoV-2. The current project has received EUR 4.5 million in funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Involved in this project are the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Hans Knöll Institute) in Jena (project coordination), the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and other research institutions throughout Germany. (gro)
