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)
Affiliates
Derrick Rossi, co-founder of Moderna, is an advisor to Ophirex.6)
Funding
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)
Staff
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Nancy Koch | Chief Executive Officer10) |
| Rebecca Carter | Vice President, Program Operations |
| Kathleen Dotson | Vice President, Finance |
| Dana Miletic | Operations Contracts Administrator |
| Jack Tupman | Executive |
| Sunita Rao | Senior Executive Administrator11) |
Products
Antivenom
In August 2017, Ophirex licensed varespladib from Eli Lilly and Shionogi.12)
COVID-19
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)
BRAVO Study
Ophirex is running a clinical trial titled “Broad-spectrum Rapid Antidote: Varespladib Oral for Snakebite (BRAVO)” in collaboration with Premier Research International.14)
1)
Ophirex funding and collaboration. Ophirex | Lifesaving Antidotes. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://archive.ph/m8lOl
2)
OPHIREX, INC. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://archive.ph/d02vk
3)
Ophirex, Inc. Gust. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://archive.ph/lenaT
4)
Matthew Lewin. LinkedIn. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-lewin-37681b124/
5)
, 12)
Lewin, M. (2017, August 28). Ophirex Licenses Lilly - Shionogi Data for Novel Snakebite Treatment Development Program. Bloomberg. https://archive.ph/5pvD3
6)
Farooqui, S. (2021, July 6). Moderna co-founder using mRNA technology to treat venomous snakebites. Global News. https://archive.ph/URhV7
7)
Rao, S. (2020, March 2). Ophirex receives Wellcome Trust award to advance clinical development of novel snakebite treatment. Business Wire. https://archive.ph/LHsYv
8)
Karon, P. (2020). Snakebites are a deadly threat worldwide. Who’s behind the push for a new treatment? Inside Philanthropy. https://web.archive.org/web/20220413132035/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb10eb62bf19e1bbec031bc/t/60c38b9ca1a11d3f55c2fb7d/1623427997415/Inside+Philanthropy+2020-12-17+Snakebites.pdf
9)
Broad Spectrum Envenomation Treatment. SBIR. Retrieved April 16, 2022, from https://archive.ph/T9toA
10)
Ophirex - Overview, News & Competitors. ZoomInfo. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220416034702/https://www.zoominfo.com/c/ophirex-inc/398629525
11)
Sunita Rao. LinkedIn. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunitarao/
13)
Ophirex, Inc., & Premier Research International LLC. (2022, March 22). A Phase 2, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Varespladib in Patients Hospitalized With Severe COVID 19 Caused by SARS-CoV-2. ClinicalTrials.gov. https://archive.ph/jo7R9
14)
Ophirex, Inc., & Premier Research International LLC. (2022, February 9). Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of a Multi-Dose Regimen of Oral Varespladib-Methyl in Subjects Bitten by Venomous Snakes. ClinicalTrials.gov. https://archive.ph/xNuHy