Dogwood Therapeutics Provides IMC-2 Data For Long-COVID Study

Dogwood Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for pain and fatigue-related conditions, has announced preliminary results from the BHC IMC-2 Long-COVID study. Conducted through a research grant provided to the Bateman Horne Center (BHC), the study evaluated the effects of IMC-2, a combination antiviral therapy, on long-term COVID-19 symptoms.

The results showed that patients in the low-dose IMC-2 cohort, who received 750 mg valacyclovir and 200 mg celecoxib twice daily, showed significantly improved fatigue and sleep disturbances compared with placebo. The high-dose cohort that received 1500 mg valacyclovir and 200 mg celecoxib twice daily did not have significant benefits over placebo, probably because of increased gastrointestinal side effects observed at higher doses.

R. Michael Gendreau, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Dogwood Therapeutics, Inc., said in a statement, “The primary goals of this trial were to determine the IMC-2 treatment effect size versus placebo and the associated patient sample size to design our planned IMC-2 Phase 2 Long-COVID study in a manner that maximizes the probability of success.”  

He also said, “IMC-2 demonstrated a robust reduction in fatigue, the primary endpoint agreed with the Food & Drug Administration to advance IMC-2 into Phase 2 development. We look forward to finalizing these plans and providing further information on the next steps in the coming months.”

Lucinda Bateman, MD, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of the Bateman Horne Center and the study’s principal investigator, said in a statement, “To date, there are no FDA-approved medicines to treat Long-COVID symptoms. This trial provides evidence that IMC-2 has the potential to improve fatigue and sleep symptoms associated with Long-COVID illness on a scale not previously observed in Long-COVID research. I believe this finding warrants further investigation of IMC-2 in larger scale, multi-center Long-COVID studies.”