Axcella Therapeutics announced a regulatory path to registration of AXA1125 in the treatment of Long COVID Fatigue. The company reported that it had received regulatory guidance from The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the U.K.'s regulatory agency, supporting a single trial that could serve as the registration trial for patients with Long COVID fatigue, and aligning on key measurements, including primary endpoint and trial design. Axcella will be meeting with the MHRA in the near term to discuss the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) application.

The company further reported submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a Phase 2b/3 trial. These efforts follow submission of materials to both regulatory agencies including results from the Phase 2a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation to evaluate the efficacy and safety of AXA1125 in patients with fatigue related to Long COVID. Notably, in this study subjects who received AXA1125 experienced clinically and statistically significant improvement in mental (p=0.0097) and physical (p=0.0097) fatigue scores compared to placebo subjects.

Long COVID is a persistent and growing long-term part of the pandemic, affecting an estimated one hundred million patients worldwide, with fatigue as the most commonly reported symptom. Recent estimates indicate that 15-20% of Americans with COVID have persisting health issues,i up to four million Americans are out of work due to Long COVID symptoms, and that Long COVID has contributed to approximately $1 trillion in lost earnings and $544 billion in increased medical spending.