Patients treated with an NRx Pharmaceuitcals drug candidate targeting COVID-19 showed “substantial improvement,” an analysis shows.  

The news caused the Radnor company’s stock to jump 20% Monday, writes John George for Philadelphia Business Journal.  

The patients had critical COVID-19 and respiratory failure but showed “substantial improvement” when given the NRx drug Zyesami.  

The analysis, comparing current therapies with remdesivir to Zyesami, was requested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Comparing patients who only received a placebo, patients treated with remdesivir had a 2.5-fold increase in the odds of survival and being free from respiratory failure after 60 days.

Those receiving Zyesami had four-fold higher odds of surviving after 60 days.

Dr. Jonathan Javitt, CEO of NRx Pharmaceuticals, said definitive findings will eventually come from a global trial that’s currently halfway enrolled.

“However, at a time when COVID deaths are surging, we hope that the FDA will consider these new clinical findings in patients who have exhausted currently approved therapies,” Javitt said.

NRx has been seeking emergency use authorization from the FDA for use of Zyesami. Its first request was turned down last year because available data at the time didn’t support approval.  

Read more at Philadelphia Business Journal about the latest on NRx.