Moleculin Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: MBRX) shares absolutely exploded on Wednesday after the company gave an update on its coronavirus treatment. Specifically, the company announced that independent research found 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) to reduce replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by 100% in in vitro testing.

Essentially, the company reported that inhibiting glycolysis with non-toxic concentrations of 2-DG completely prevented SARS-CoV–2 replication in Caco–2 cells.

Some quick background: Glycolysis is a process wherein cells convert glucose into energy and infected (host) cells are induced by viruses to increase dramatically their dependence on glycolysis. 2-DG inhibits glycolysis because, although it appears to cells to be glucose, it is in fact a decoy that cannot be converted into energy.

Moleculin’s drug candidate, WP1122, is referred to as a “prodrug” of 2-DG in which chemical elements are added to 2-DG to improve its delivery in vivo.

Dr. Don Picker, chief science officer of Moleculin, further commented:

2-DG is what we call the ‘active moiety’ in WP1122.  The problem with 2-DG is that it is metabolized by the body too quickly, so you can’t get enough concentration in human tissues and organs to be therapeutic.  Therefore, even though 2-DG is active against a range of viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, it isn’t useful as a clinical therapy because it’s too rapidly metabolized.  WP1122 appears to solve this problem because it is a ‘prodrug’ of 2-DG.  Its structure enables it to achieve much higher tissue/organ concentrations than 2-DG alone, but once it’s in the cell, it metabolizes into the exact same 2-DG that is so effective in vitro.

Moleculin stock traded up on Wednesday about 180% to $1.58, in a 52-week range of $0.32 to $3.15. The consensus price target is $3.33.

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