Ascletis Pharma Inc. announced that the Investigational New Drug (IND) application of ASC10, an oral inhibitor drug candidate targeting RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) for COVID-19, has been accepted by China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). ASC10 is an orally bioavailable double prodrug which has a new and differentiated chemical structure from the single prodrug molnupiravir. After oral administration, both ASC10 and molnupiravir are rapidly and completely converted in vivo into the same active metabolite ASC10-A, also known as ß-D-N4-hydroxycytidine (NHC).

ASC10 was discovered and developed in-house. Ascletis has filed multiple patent applications for ASC10 and its use globally. ASC10 oral tablet formulation for the clinical study was developed with in-house proprietary technology of Ascletis.