ContraFect teams with China on universal flu drug research

ContraFect Corp. in Yonkers will collaborate with China”™s National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention to advance research and development of CF-404, the biotechnology company”™s universal influenza treatment.

The collaborative research agreement was announced Thursday by ContraFect CEO Julia P. Gregory. Gregory was joined later Thursday by Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano in welcoming a touring delegation of 17 Chinese government officials, corporate executives and investors, led by Guohua Zhang, mayor of the city of Nantong, to ContraFect headquarters at 28 Wells Ave. in the iPark Hudson commercial complex.

“Working with the IVDC in China provides ContraFect access to some of the world”™s top experts in the field of influenza,” Gregory said in a press release. “As new strains of influenza often arise in China, working with the Chinese agency allows us to test our universal influenza therapy, CF-404, on the relevant strains of influenza by their expert team.”

Yuelong Shu, the institute”™s deputy director, in the announcement said the Chinese health agency “looks forward to working with ContraFect”™s new medicine to treat this global threat.”

Scientists at ContraFect said CF-404 is a therapeutic cocktail composed of three fully human monoclonal antibodies that protects animals from all strains of influenza that affect humans, including potential pandemic strains. The highly potent antibodies are effective at low doses. The goal of the CF-404 program is to create a universal influenza therapy.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has estimated that up to 49,000 deaths per year are influenza-related in the U.S.