Rising Pharmaceuticals to Support Global Clinical Trial Conducted by the CROWN Collaborative (represented by Washington University School of Medicine in the US), Investigating an Innovative Approach to Protecting Essential Healthcare Workers

An international study named “CROWN CORONATION” aims to include up to 55,000 subjects and is designed to assess the effectiveness of multiple dose ranges of chloroquine to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in frontline healthcare workers

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rising Pharma Holdings Inc., the pharmaceutical company operating as Rising Pharmaceuticals, today announced that it is donating chloroquine to the U.S. arm of the Chloroquine RepurpOsing to healthWorkers for Novel CORONAvirus mitigaTION (CROWN CORONATION) clinical trial. The CROWN CORONATION trial has been funded by the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, a partnership of philanthropic organizations and individuals, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard. The trial is designed to evaluate the potential use of chloroquine to protect frontline healthcare workers from infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

“Because of their repeated close contacts with infected patients, frontline healthcare workers in all parts of the world have a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 than most members of the general public,” said one of the study’s principal investigators, Michael S. Avidan, MD, the Dr. Seymour and Rose T. Brown Professor and head of the Department of Anesthesiology at Washington University. “In some places, more than 10% of those who have become infected are healthcare workers. There is an urgent need to identify drugs that are effective at preventing infection or mitigating its severity.”

Conducted at multiple sites in North America, Europe, the UK and Africa, CROWN CORONATION will evaluate the protective potential of weekly, twice weekly or daily doses of chloroquine, when compared with placebo, in frontline healthcare workers at high risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. The trial’s primary outcomes measures are the proportion of subjects in each group that develops symptomatic COVID-19 and the severity of COVID-19 if they do become infected.

“Large-scale clinical studies that can provide definitive evidence about the safety and efficacy of these medications are essential for optimizing preventive and therapeutic outcomes and effectively addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. We are proud to contribute to ongoing clinical research in this area, especially to this study focused on protecting our heroic frontline healthcare workers,” said Ira Baeringer, Chief Operations Officer of Rising Pharmaceuticals. Since 2011, Rising Pharmaceuticals has distributed Chloroquine Phosphate Tablets in the United States under an FDA approved drug application.

About Chloroquine Phosphate Tablets

Chloroquine Phosphate Tablets are indicated for the following; treatment of uncomplicated malaria due to susceptible strains of P. falciparum, P.malariae, P. ovale, and P.vivax; prophylaxis of malaria in geographic areas where resistance to chloroquine is not present; and for the treatment of extraintestinal amebiasis.

About Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc.

Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc., a privately held company, sells generic prescription products and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products under the Rising label to leading wholesalers, chain drug stores, distributors, and mass merchandisers. The company continually seeks new opportunities to develop its business through strategic partnerships with manufacturers, marketers, and distributors under the Rising label.

About CROWN COLLABORATIVE

The COVID-19 Research Outcomes Worldwide Network (CROWN) Collaborative is an international group of health researchers and clinical trialists, supported by some of the world’s leading research and healthcare institutions.