TYMETechnologies, Inc. announced encouraging preclinical data on the effect of TYME-19 in SARS CoV-2 infections. The Company believes that TYME-19, a synthetic bile acid, may have differentiated mechanisms that could offer alternatives for COVID-19 infected patients who may not be served by current and emerging oral agents. Bile acids can act to help overcome the viral hijacking of cells’ translational machinery and the production and replication of virus proteins and particles. Based on these properties and recent research on COVID-19 disease processes, the Company anticipates that the TYME-19-based mechanisms of action may be independent of genetic shifts in the spike protein and, therefore, could have utility against a variety of current and future variants of SARS CoV-2, such as Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron, regardless of their spike protein characteristics. As a result, the Company believes this has the potential to be a complementary effective mechanism to current and emerging therapeutic options in COVID-19. The Company has retained virology experts at Evotec to assess the mechanisms of TYME-19. Evotec is one of a select number of global drug development companies with the capabilities to access the multiple emerging variants of the COVID-19 virus. TYME and Evotec are testing the ability of TYME-19 to interrupt the cellular pathways commonly used by viruses to produce viral proteins that would lead to the interruption of COVID-19’s viral particle production and the shedding of such particles from infected cells. In this initial preclinical study, TYME-19 was tested post-COVID-19 infection in human lung epithelial cells (A549 cells), examining changes in viral mRNA levels. This cell model is well understood and frequently used for screening for antiviral effects for drugs against respiratory viruses. As part of the study, a range of doses of TYME-19 were tested and were exposed to A549 cells one hour after the cells’ exposure to the COVID-19 virus. At certain doses, viral mRNA inhibition of up to 90% was observed with TYME-19 treatment after 72 hours of exposure.