FOUNDER OF THE MONTH
AMIR ZEKI
INVIXA
BY Russell Nichols
As COVID-19 vaccines roll out worldwide , InVixa is working on a new delivery method for a cholesterol-lowering drug to treat respiratory inflammation caused by the coronavirus .
One of the most prescribed drugs on the market , statins are typically used to treat cardiovascular diseases . In 2007 , Dr . Amir Zeki , the Davis-based startup ’ s cofounder and an associate professor in the Division of Pulmonary , Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at UC Davis , started researching statins to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease . Human clinical trials with oral statins yielded mixed results , but Zeki believed not enough of the drug was getting to the actual lung tissue to be effective . Could inhaled statins be the difference maker ?
Last year , while working in the intensive care unit at UC Davis Medical Center when the pandemic seized the globe , Zeki had an aha moment and pivoted InVixa , which he cofounded in May 2020 and has a team of 14 , to focus on inhaled statins as a way to protect lungs against the virus ’ s effects .
After raising about $ 6 million in seed funds and grants , the startup is seeking about $ 20 million to $ 25 million in its next funding round to support completion of preclinical work and clinical trials . Zeki hopes to start clinical trials within a year , but he says that timeline remains fluid .
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WILL INHALED STATINS MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE ? “ The route of delivery has a big impact on the efficacy of the drug . You may very well get a different outcome than if you give it inhaled , which gives the drug directly to the site of disease activity . Orally , much of the drug can remain in the liver , and blood levels can vary or be lower than desired .”
HOW QUICKLY CAN SOMETHING LIKE THIS BE MADE AVAILABLE ? “( This season ) we ’ re gearing up to do multiple animal COVID studies to validate cell culture studies we ’ ve done . We are working hard to reach specific milestones that will enable robust and rapid drug development . We hope things continue to move fast .”
For more on InVixa , read Russell Nichols ’ Startup of the Month column at comstocksmag . com .
98 comstocksmag . com | April 2021