CytoDyn partner offers free lab testing for coronavirus-linked Childhood Inflammatory Diseases

CytoDyn Inc (OTCQB:CYDY) announced Friday that its diagnostic partner is now offering comprehensive cytokine profiling tests to help physicians better understand Childhood Inflammatory Disease, a condition associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19). The disease resembles a rare childhood illness called Kawasaki disease, which has similar signs and symptoms and can lead to enlargement of blood vessels.  The New York State Department of Health is investigating 110 reported cases and 3 deaths in children experiencing symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome, possibly due to the virus, the company said. READ: CytoDyn wraps up Biologics License Application for leronlimab as combination HIV therapy The testing is being conducted by CytoDyn’s diagnostic partner and advisor, IncellDx. “Cytokines are proteins that modulate the inflammatory response,” IncellDx CEO Buce Patterson said in a statement. “Kawasaki disease has been previously shown to be associated with elevated levels of RANTES, a protein we have shown to be significantly elevated in mild-moderate COVID-19 and over 100 times normal in critical COVID-19 patients.” CytoDyn noted that the laboratory tests are exploratory in nature and not meant to guide clinical decision making. “We hope our comprehensive cytokine testing will help physicians gain a better understanding of the disease process and, in turn, explore the prospect for leronlimab to potentially provide a therapeutic benefit to children suffering from inflammatory illness related to COVID-19,” CytoDyn CEO Nader Pourhassan said. CytoDyn is currently enrolling patients in a pair of clinical trials of leronlimab as a treatment for the coronavirus: a Phase 2 randomized clinical trial of mild-to-moderate coronavirus patients and a Phase 2b/3 trial for severe and critically ill coronavirus patients. Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel