UK-based Evgen Pharma has announced that it has now recruited a total of 102 patients into a trial investigating its lead asset SFX-01 in COVID-19.

The Phase II/III STAR trial is investigating if SFX-01 can reduce the severity or prevent the onset of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in patients with suspected COVID-19.

The trial is including patients if they are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, or other respiratory infections causing community-acquired pneumonia.

The study is sponsored by the University of Dundee and funded by the UK-based charity LifeArc.

Evgen is expecting recruitment to the STAR trial to be completed at the end of 2021 or the first quarter of 2022.

“We are pleased with the recruitment progress in this trial and would again like to thank professor James Chalmers and his colleagues at Dundee for their considerable efforts in a very challenging clinical environment,” said Huw Jones, chief executive officer of Evgen.

“Randomising over 100 patients is an important milestone in this trial and takes us a step closer to receiving the initial data from the study. We look forward to further updating the market as we progress through this important trial,” he added.