LAS VEGAS, June 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zhittya Genesis Medicine, Inc. (a private company)(“Zhittya” or the “Company”), announced that its latest White Paper, which details results on its breakthrough medical therapy to potentially treat and reverse lung damage caused by COVID-19, is now available to the public, free of charge. The White Paper is entitled: “COVID-19 Lung Damage – Can Inhaled FGF-1 be a Viable Treatment?”. Zhittya has plans to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the US FDA to advance its drug into a Phase I clinical trial in subjects with lung damage from COVID-19. In parallel, Zhittya also plans to file for an approval to start a Phase I clinical trial for COVID-19 lung damage in Mexico.
As is now being seen in survivors of the COVID-19 pandemic, people who recover can still be left with substantially weakened lung capacity. Physicians are now following the first wave of patients who were discharged from hospitals and up to 30% of these individuals still have respiratory issues. Based on previous flu epidemics, it is estimated that it will take three months to a year or more for a person’s lung function to return to pre-COVID-19 levels, if they ever do return to those levels.
The cells in the lungs which are attacked by the COVID-19 virus are the epithelial cells which line the air sacs in the lung and are directly responsible for the proper exchange of oxygen into the blood circulation. When epithelial cells become damaged either by the virus directly, or through a hyper-response of the body’s immune system, pneumonia and respiratory distress result. If the epithelial cells cannot be regenerated, long-term lung damage and breathing difficulties will persist.
Members of the fibroblast growth factor family, including FGF-1, FGF-2 and FGF-10, are all potent stimulators of lung epithelial cell proliferation and have shown success in reversing lung damage in animal models of viral pneumonia. Zhittya has been developing the FGF-1 biological drug for a number of other medical indications and has received permission from the Mexican FDA to initiate a Phase I trial with FGF-1 in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Daniel C. Montano, Zhittya’s CEO, stated, “According to the CDC, there are approximately 800,000 annual hospitalizations in the United States for respiratory distress. It is estimated that half of those patients will leave the hospital with some form of lung damage and scarring which can lead to breathing difficulties, especially on exertion. To have a medication available for these patients that could reverse that lung damage, would greatly improve the quality of life for those patients and their care-givers. In addition to helping survivors of COVID-19 with lung damage, we will also determine if our molecule could help patients that suffer respiratory distress from emphysema, COPD and ARDS”.
Dr. Jack Jacobs, President and Chief Science Officer of Zhittya Genesis Medicine, added, “This new addition to Zhittya’s pipeline of drugs currently in development will receive a high priority. A relatively simple protocol can be developed whereby the patient can self-administer the FGF-1 at home and return to the clinic for pulmonary function tests on a defined schedule. Given the excellent safety record FGF-1 has enjoyed when administered to cardiac patients and in wound healing clinical trials, there is no reason not to immediately examine whether this growth factor can heal lungs damaged by COVID-19”.
Zhittya’s White Paper, “COVID-19 Lung Damage – Can Inhaled FGF-1 be a Viable Treatment?” is available to the public free of charge. To obtain a copy, please email dan@zhittyamedicine.com.
About Zhittya Genesis Medicine
Zhittya Genesis Medicine, Inc. is advancing a group of drugs which trigger the human body’s natural regeneration process. Their medicine initiates a biological response in the human body referred to as “therapeutic angiogenesis,” which will only occur in diseased tissues that become ischemic due to a lack of blood flow. In addition, the growth factor acts directly on certain cells in the body, including lung epithelial cells, to stimulate their proliferation in tissue that has become damaged. To learn more, please visit zhittyaregenerativemedicine.com
Zhittya Contact:
Daniel Montano, CEO
Zhittya Genesis Medicine Inc.
702-802-8373
dan@zhittyamedicine.com