Biophytis SA announced new positive preclinical data on Sarconeos (BIO101) in hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2. The data will be presented as an ePoster at the 31stEuropean Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), which will take place online from 9-12 July 2021. This study reveals that Sarconeos (BIO101) daily treatment prevents respiratory function deterioration in SARS-CoV-2-infected mammals and provides a solid preclinical proof of concept for the ongoing Phase 2-3 COVA clinical study. In the study, hamsters were inoculated intranasally with 106 TCID50/mL. Sarconeos (BIO101) was administered daily at 10 mg/kg day. Three groups of 6-7-week-old female hamsters were compared: uninfected hamsters treated with the vehicle (control; n=10), SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters treated with the vehicle (n=10), and SARS-CoV-2-infected hamster treated with BIO101 (n=10). Pulmonary function was assessed by whole-body plethysmography. The results showed that at 5 dpi, the Penh value, a classical measure of respiratory distress proven to be relevant in corona virus airway infections, was significantly increased in the group of SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters treated with the vehicle, compared to the uninfected control group (0.63 ± 0.11 versus 0.28 ± 0.01, p<0.01). In animals treated with Sarconeos (BIO101), the Penh value was significantly reduced compared to vehicle-treated infected animals (0.35 ± 0.02, p<0.05). Inspiration (66.4 ± 2.6 msec) and expiration (134.9 ± 3.2 msec) times in Sarconeos (BIO101)-treated animals were significantly lower than in the vehicle-treated group of infected hamsters (88.4 ± 6.87 msec, p<0.01; 150.7 ± 5.2 msec, p<0.05, respectively). End Expiratory Pause (EEP) is proportional to the degree of obstruction of the lower airways. In Sarconeos (BIO101)-treated animals, EEP time was significantly lower compared to infected animals treated with the vehicle (12.6 ± 0.3 vs 18.8 ± 1.6 msec, p<0.01). The daily administration of BIO101 for 5 days remarkably restored the EEP time of the treated animals (CI 95%: 11.9-13.4), to a comparable level of uninfected control animals (CI 95%: 11.3-13.4).