Halifax-based Appili Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing drugs for infectious diseases, has added clinical research sites in Mexico and Brazil to its Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating favipiravir as a potential oral therapy for patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19.

The expansion into Mexico and Brazil will ensure a timely completion of the trial, the company said in a statement.

There are more than 730 U.S. patients currently enrolled in the study. Appili expects to complete enrollment and report top-line results by the end of September.

“While the situation is improving in the U.S., COVID-19 remains an international crisis. Here and abroad, physicians and government leaders have been calling for effective oral antiviral medicines to treat these patients," said Yoav Golan, Appili Chief Medical Officer, in a statement.

“With this expansion of our trial, we will be able to move quicker towards our goal of determining whether Avigan/Reeqonus (Favipiravir) is effective in helping people who suffer from mild-to-moderate COVID-19 to recover faster and avoid hospitalization and death.” 

In the Phase 3 PRESECO (Preventing Severe COVID-19 Disease) study, Investigators are enrolling participants at multiple clinical trial sites in the United States. Participants self-administer the drug regimen in their homes, with clinical investigators monitoring them.