OUR VIRAL TARGETS

There remain significant gaps in the protection available to vulnerable people at risk of COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV+) and cytomegalovirus (CMV), with their own immune systems unable to mount a sufficient response to vaccination due to age or illness. For this reason, these four viral diseases which are the focus of RQ Bio’s discovery program.

SARS-COV-2 AND COVID-19

  • Immunocompromised patients remain at elevated risk of death from COVID-19.

  • These vulnerable individuals have an overall 44% higher risk of death in hospital than patients with normal immune system.

  • Despite the success of COVID-19 vaccination, vulnerable patient groups have lower vaccine efficacy compared to general populations, and higher risks of severe COVID-19.

INFLUENZA

  • Globally, WHO estimates that seasonal influenza may result in 290,000-650,000 deaths each year due to respiratory diseases alone.

  • During large influenza pandemics, when strains evolved substantially, it is estimated that the death toll may be even higher.

  • Seasonal influenza is a more serious disease for the very young, and the over 65-year-olds, with elderly adults being over 4.5 times more likely to be admitted to hospital compared to younger adults following influenza virus infection.

  • Vulnerable individuals have a 3.9 times greater risk of influenza-associated death.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV+)

  • RSV+ is one of the main causes of infant hospitalization and mortality.

  • RSV+ is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants in the US.

  • RSV+ bronchiolitis may be responsible for 3.2 million hospitalizations and 118,200 deaths in children younger than 5 years old. In the US, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV+) leads to 58,000 hospitalizations in children under five, annually, and more than 14,000 deaths.

  • Globally, it is estimated that approximately 67% of infants aged<1 year are infected with RSV+ and 90 to 95% of infants are infected within the first 2 years of life.

CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV)

  • The primary risk factors for CMV disease are immunosuppression and fetal CMV infection

  • It is forecast that the number of CMV cases in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain will grow to 10,700 by 2027. This increase is primarily due to the growing population size of at-risk groups.

  • CMV disease can present as end-organ disease (infection and symptoms in lung, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, liver, retina, or other organs), CMV syndrome (fever, fatigue, leukopenia, and/or thrombocytosis), or congenital CMV (cCMV) (symptoms ranging from mild manifestations to premature birth and neurologic sequelae).