Verge puts ALS target through COVID-19 paces, leaning on preclinical partners

After a drug repositioning screen flagged Verge’s ALS target PIKFYVE as an Achilles heel for COVID-19, the neurodegeneration-focused biotech jumped into infectious disease by tapping the growing ecosystem of partners with industrialized SARS-CoV-2 assays.

That infrastructure, combined with the urgency of the pandemic, could enable Verge Genomics Inc.’s new COVID-19 program to leapfrog its lead candidate into the clinic. ...