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Profiles

Ophirex

Ophirex, Inc. is an American public benefit pharmaceutical corporation based in Corte Madera, California.[1][2]

History

Ophirex was founded by Matthew Lewin and Jerry Harrison in January 2015 to develop a rapid cure for snake venom.[3][4][5]

In August 2017, Ophirex licensed varespladib from Eli Lilly and Shionogi.[5:1]

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.[6]

Ophirex is running a clinical trial titled “Broad-spectrum Rapid Antidote: Varespladib Oral for Snakebite (BRAVO)” in collaboration with Premier Research International.[7]

Organization

Ophirex is funded by multiple awards from the United States Department of Defense, a grant from Wellcome Trust, and the World Health Organization.[8][9][10]

Personnel

Name Position Notes
Nancy Koch Chief Executive Officer[11] -
Rebecca Carter Vice President, Program Operations -
Kathleen Dotson Vice President, Finance -
Dana Miletic Operations Contracts Administrator -
Jack Tupman Executive -
Sunita Rao Senior Executive Administrator[12] -
Derrick Rossi Advisor[13] Moderna

  1. Ophirex funding and collaboration. Ophirex | Lifesaving Antidotes. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.04.13-040417/https://www.ophirex.com/funding-and-collaboration ↩︎

  2. OPHIREX, INC. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). Retrieved April 13, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.04.13-082230/https://www.sbir.gov/sbirsearch/detail/1224903 ↩︎

  3. Ophirex, Inc. Gust. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.04.13-084511/https://gust.com/companies/ophirex-inc ↩︎

  4. Matthew Lewin. LinkedIn. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-lewin-37681b124/ ↩︎

  5. Lewin, M. (2017, August 28). Ophirex Licenses Lilly - Shionogi Data for Novel Snakebite Treatment Development Program. Bloomberg. http://archive.today/2022.04.13-100603/https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2017-08-28/ophirex-licenses-lilly-shionogi-data-for-novel-snakebite-treatment-development-program ↩︎ ↩︎

  6. 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. http://archive.today/2022.04.16-080335/https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04969991 ↩︎

  7. 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. http://archive.today/2022.04.13-091146/https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04996264 ↩︎

  8. Rao, S. (2020, March 2). Ophirex receives Wellcome Trust award to advance clinical development of novel snakebite treatment. Business Wire. http://archive.today/2022.04.16-081242/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200302005296/en/Ophirex-Receives-Wellcome-Trust-Award-to-Advance-Clinical-Development-of-Novel-Snakebite-Treatment ↩︎

  9. 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 ↩︎

  10. Broad Spectrum Envenomation Treatment. SBIR. Retrieved April 16, 2022, from http://archive.today/2022.04.16-082709/https://www.sbir.gov/sbirsearch/detail/1843561 ↩︎

  11. Ophirex - Overview, News & Competitors. ZoomInfo. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220416034702/https://www.zoominfo.com/c/ophirex-inc/398629525 ↩︎

  12. Sunita Rao. LinkedIn. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunitarao/ ↩︎

  13. Farooqui, S. (2021, July 6). Moderna co-founder using mRNA technology to treat venomous snakebites. Global News. http://archive.today/2022.04.12-061546/https://globalnews.ca/news/8005422/moderna-cofounder-mrna-snakebotes/ ↩︎