Lui Franciosi is pleased to announce that Franciosi Consulting Ltd. will be reviewing the pharmacological feasibility of using specific glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2, i.e., COVID-19. GAGs are long linear polysaccharides consisting of repeating disaccharide units (i.e., two-sugar units) that participate in many biological processes, in particular, cell signalling and development, angiogenesis, anti-coagulation, tumour progression, axonal growth and metastasis.  Their large structural diversity makes them useful in the discovery of new drugs.  The clinically best-known GAG is heparin, which is an anticoagulant used for the treatment of thrombophlebitis, embolism, and thrombosis. It also has anti-inflammatory activity.  However, its major side effects are bleeding and bruising, especially in the elderly.  From the COVID-19 medical literature, the virus appears to cause increased activation of cells that are involved with the clotting and inflammatory processes. This may lead to an increased risk of blood clots and lung inflammation.  Currently, there are clinical studies of heparin underway looking at its benefits in COVID-19 patients, but bleeding is still a major issue.  Therefore, there is a need to come up with a better heparin-like molecule which is anti-inflammatory but with minimal anticoagulant effects.

Lui Franciosi states, "It has been a difficult and challenging year with this pandemic.  Pharmaceutical research needs to deliver better treatments to those suffering with moderate and severe COVID-19 in hospital.  I will be reviewing the existing scientific literature and searching out which GAG molecules could be pharmacologically active".

About Lui Franciosi

Lui Franciosi is a consultant with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He has worked as a pharmacologist and an executive in the pharmaceutical industry in Canada, Europe, and Asia. He holds a Masters degree and a Doctorate from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He also studied business at the University of Warwick in the U.K. He went on to become the COO at Verona Pharma for seven years. Lui Franciosi founded Franciosi Consulting Ltd. in 2015 and is the president and CEO.