University Health Network (UHN)

Since 2020, Aptahem collaborates with the University Health Network, a research hospital affiliated with University of Toronto in Canada. The collaboration aims to evaluate the anti-thrombotic Apta-1 as an inhibitor of hyper inflammatory response and an inducer of tissue repair to potentially treat Covid-19 disease by studying the interphase Pentraxin-3 (PTX-3), inflammation and pathogen recognition related to corona viruses.

The research team in Canada, led by Professor Mingyao Liu, has developed a unique in vivo coronavirus-induced acute lung injury model to study SARS with pathological features shared between SARS and Covid-19. This is the only in vivo model of its kind in the world. The model employs the MHV-1 virus to induce SARS-CoV-2 symptoms and does not require high level biohazard facility, which will speed up research to meet the urgent needs.

Preliminary results from the studies in Toronto show that Apta-1 protects and recovers damaged lung tissue, significantly reduces the virus count and hemolysis, plus improves the clinical markers for the liver and kidneys. Previous studies show that Apta-1 improves and maintains a healthy blood pressure, and with that a good oxygenation, which is crucial to keeping the organism vital.