Ophirex

Ophirex, Inc. is an American public benefit pharmaceutical corporation based in Corte Madera, California.^{1) 2)} Ophirex was founded by Matthew Lewin and Jerry Harrison in January 2015 to develop a rapid cure for snake venom.^{3) 4) 5)}

Derrick Rossi, co-founder of Moderna, is an advisor to Ophirex.⁶⁾

Ophirex is funded by multiple awards from the US Department of Defense, a grant from Wellcome Trust, and the World Health Organization.^{7) 8) 9)}

In August 2017, Ophirex licensed varespladib from Eli Lilly and Shionogi.¹²⁾

In 2020, Ophirex evaluated varespladib for treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a common cause of death in COVID-19 patients. Despite the apparent winding down of the pandemic, their STAIRS trial continues.¹³⁾

Ophirex is running a clinical trial titled “Broad-spectrum Rapid Antidote: Varespladib Oral for Snakebite (BRAVO)” in collaboration with Premier Research International.¹⁴⁾

• Ophirex