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Sorrento Announces Positive Preliminary Results of Phase 1b Study of COVI-MSC(TM) for Treatment of ICU COVID-19 Patients

-- First three patients
discharged from Hospital ICU within 8 days from initial
IV administration

-- No infusion-related adverse events noted for any patient treated to date

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRNE, "Sorrento") announced today positive preliminary results from its Phase 1b study of human allogeneic adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (COVI-MSC(TM)) for patients suffering from COVID-19-induced acute respiratory distress (ARD) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This ongoing study (PSC-CP-004) is a single arm, non-randomized Phase 1b study of the safety and preliminary efficacy of COVI-MSCs administered every other day for three infusions for a total of 1 x 10(6) cells/kg. The primary objective is to evaluate the safety of intravenous infusion of allogeneic adipose MSC cells in patients with COVID-19-induced ARD or ARDS. The secondary objective is to evaluate efficacy outcome variables to give guidance regarding the risk/benefit ratio in patients with COVID-19 respiratory distress.

The first three patients enrolled tolerated treatment well and improved rapidly. Each of the three patients was discharged from the hospital within a week of starting the patient's COVI-MSC infusions and two patients were discharged on the day of their last infusion. One of the patients had been in the hospital for three weeks, unable to be weaned from significant oxygen support, and another patient with uncontrolled diabetes had been discharged previously but had to be readmitted due to recurrent ARD. Each of the infusions were well-tolerated and no patient reported any infusion-related adverse events. A fourth patient is currently at the beginning of a course of treatment, with no safety issues following the patient's first infusion. Additional enrollment continues.

Dr. Eyad Almasri, Associate Professor of Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at UCSF Fresno, is the principal investigator in this ongoing study. Dr. Almasri stated, "I am excited to see how well-tolerated this promising treatment is to date and am very encouraged by the early signals we are seeing from the first few patients. I am looking forward to working with Sorrento in continuing to offer COVI-MSC treatments to patients in this study and in the proposed controlled phase 2 study."