Atriva: Targeting Patients, Not Virus, Is The Way Forward In Flu

27 Feb 2019

• By John Davis

Emerging Company Profile: Four-year-old Atriva Therapeutics GmbH is developing a drug to prevent the proliferation of flu virus by transiently inhibiting one of the patient’s own cellular processes, a host-mediated novel mechanism of action that could be effective against a range of respiratory virus infections.

The Tübingen, Germany-based biotech Atriva Therapeutics GMBH is aiming to move its host-targeting anti-flu MEK inhibitor, ATR-002, into initial clinical studies in 2019, and believes the molecule’s novel mode of action could offer advantages over other approaches in the treatment of influenza, including universal flu vaccines and next-generation virus-targeted small molecules.

The company, which boasts an experienced management team and serial entrepreneur Rainer Lichtenberger as CEO, also is attracting the interest...