Brequinar is a potent DHODH inhibitor that has been previously studied in more than 1,000 cancer, psoriasis, and organ transplant patients. Brequinar has been found to have potent in vitro antiviral activity against many RNA viruses including SARS-CoV-2. The antiviral activity of brequinar against SARS-CoV-2 is likely due to DHODH inhibition and shows nanomolar potency and a high selectivity index in inhibiting viral replication in in vitro studies.~The CRISIS2 trial will study out-patients (non-hospitalized patients) who have a positive SARS-CoV-2 test and are symptomatic. Subjects will be randomized to receive standard of care (SOC) + 5 days of brequinar or SOC + 5 days of placebo. The purpose of this study is to determine if the in vitro antiviral activity of brequinar can be duplicated in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 by measuring the effect of brequinar on viral shedding. Importantly, the safety and tolerability of brequinar will also be determined in these patients. The results of this proof-of-concept study will inform future studies that will help determine if brequinar is a safe and effective drug for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.~This will be a phase II randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind, multi-center study with approximately 100 subjects. All subjects will receive standard of care (SOC) per institutional guidelines for treatment of patients with COVID-19 infection. In addition to SOC, the subjects will self-administer one capsule once daily for 5 days.~Subjects will have a Screening Visit followed as soon as possible with Study Day 1. Study visits (virtual or in person) will take place at Screening and on specified days. The visits that include bloodwork must be conducted at the study site or arrangements made for sample collection at the subject's home or other appropriate location. Other visits/visit activities for that visit may be conducted remotely using telemedicine or other remote technique. Subjects are to self-collect a viral load sample, obtain their respiratory rate, heart rate, body temperature and SpO2, and complete a symptom assessment checklist on specified days.
This study will assess the efficacy and safety of DHODHi (brequinar) as an antiviral via 5 days of treatment of participants with positive COVID-19 and at least one symptom of COVI019 in an out-patient setting. The study is multi-center, randomized, and placebo-controlled.