Empowered Patient Podcast

Sam Lee is the Co-CEO and President of Cocrystal Pharma, focused on pandemic viruses and seasonal influenza to develop a drug that is cross-spectrum with a high barrier to drug resistance. Using computational data, as well as high-resolution X-ray data, their platform allows options for newly emerging viruses that also address potency and combination treatment options. Sam explains, "We just completed the Phase I study. In the Phase I study, we demonstrated the favorable safety and tolerability of this compound, CC-42344. We designed this compound for pandemic and seasonal influenza A infection. Particularly, this compound is highly sensitive to the avian influenza strain, potentially an emerging pandemic strain." "I think with antiviral drug development, you always have to think about three important things. One is the cross-spectrum, which covers the existing viruses. For example, in the influenza case, influenza H1N1, H2, and H3. And beyond seasonal influenza viruses are pandemic viruses, H5 and H7, and po