Ophirex, Inc. is an American public benefit pharmaceutical corporation based in Corte Madera, California.[1][2]
History
Ophirex was founded by Matthew Lewin and Jerry Harrison in January 2015 to develop a rapid cure for snake venom.[3][4][5]
In August 2017, Ophirex licensed varespladib from Eli Lilly and Shionogi.[5:1]
COVID-19
In 2020, Ophirex evaluated varespladib for treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a common cause of death in COVID-19 patients. Despite the apparent winding down of the pandemic, their STAIRS trial continues.[6]
Ophirex is running a clinical trial titled “Broad-spectrum Rapid Antidote: Varespladib Oral for Snakebite (BRAVO)” in collaboration with Premier Research International.[7]
Organization
Ophirex is funded by multiple awards from the United States Department of Defense, a grant from Wellcome Trust, and the World Health Organization.[8][9][10]
Personnel
| Name | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nancy Koch | Chief Executive Officer[11] | - |
| Rebecca Carter | Vice President, Program Operations | - |
| Kathleen Dotson | Vice President, Finance | - |
| Dana Miletic | Operations Contracts Administrator | - |
| Jack Tupman | Executive | - |
| Sunita Rao | Senior Executive Administrator[12] | - |
| Derrick Rossi | Advisor[13] | Moderna |
External links
Ophirex funding and collaboration. Ophirex | Lifesaving Antidotes. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.04.13-040417/https://www.ophirex.com/funding-and-collaboration ↩︎
OPHIREX, INC. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). Retrieved April 13, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.04.13-082230/https://www.sbir.gov/sbirsearch/detail/1224903 ↩︎
Ophirex, Inc. Gust. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.04.13-084511/https://gust.com/companies/ophirex-inc ↩︎
Matthew Lewin. LinkedIn. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-lewin-37681b124/ ↩︎
Lewin, M. (2017, August 28). Ophirex Licenses Lilly - Shionogi Data for Novel Snakebite Treatment Development Program. Bloomberg. http://archive.today/2022.04.13-100603/https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2017-08-28/ophirex-licenses-lilly-shionogi-data-for-novel-snakebite-treatment-development-program ↩︎ ↩︎
Ophirex, Inc., & Premier Research International LLC. (2022, March 22). A Phase 2, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Varespladib in Patients Hospitalized With Severe COVID 19 Caused by SARS-CoV-2. ClinicalTrials.gov. http://archive.today/2022.04.16-080335/https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04969991 ↩︎
Ophirex, Inc., & Premier Research International LLC. (2022, February 9). Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of a Multi-Dose Regimen of Oral Varespladib-Methyl in Subjects Bitten by Venomous Snakes. ClinicalTrials.gov. http://archive.today/2022.04.13-091146/https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04996264 ↩︎
Rao, S. (2020, March 2). Ophirex receives Wellcome Trust award to advance clinical development of novel snakebite treatment. Business Wire. http://archive.today/2022.04.16-081242/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200302005296/en/Ophirex-Receives-Wellcome-Trust-Award-to-Advance-Clinical-Development-of-Novel-Snakebite-Treatment ↩︎
Karon, P. (2020). Snakebites are a deadly threat worldwide. Who’s behind the push for a new treatment? Inside Philanthropy. https://web.archive.org/web/20220413132035/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb10eb62bf19e1bbec031bc/t/60c38b9ca1a11d3f55c2fb7d/1623427997415/Inside+Philanthropy+2020-12-17+Snakebites.pdf ↩︎
Broad Spectrum Envenomation Treatment. SBIR. Retrieved April 16, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.04.16-082709/https://www.sbir.gov/sbirsearch/detail/1843561 ↩︎
Ophirex - Overview, News & Competitors. ZoomInfo. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220416034702/https://www.zoominfo.com/c/ophirex-inc/398629525 ↩︎
Sunita Rao. LinkedIn. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunitarao/ ↩︎
Farooqui, S. (2021, July 6). Moderna co-founder using mRNA technology to treat venomous snakebites. Global News. http://archive.today/2022.04.12-061546/https://globalnews.ca/news/8005422/moderna-cofounder-mrna-snakebotes/ ↩︎
