(Reuters) – Humanigen Inc said on Friday it had entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense for testing its drug candidate as a potential COVID-19 treatment following positive response in patients hospitalized with the illness.
Shares rose 13% in premarket trading, with the company planning to file for an emergency use approval in the first quarter of 2021 either following interim data at 75% or at study completion.
The agreement, which makes it a part of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed, is in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and also aims to get an emergency use approval for Lenzilumab.
The agreement will support an ongoing late-stage trial of the drug.
Lenzilumab has also been selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to be evaluated among the promising COVID-19 agents for its ACTIV-5 “Big Effect Trial”, the company said.
(Reporting by Trisha Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
