BerGenBio ASA announced that Dr. Mirella Spalluto of the University of Southampton on February 7, 2024 presented ?Investigating the effects of AXL inhibition during respiratory viral infections? during the 6th Forum on Respiratory Infections in Glasgow, Scotland. The data presented by Dr. Spalluto showed bemcentinib had activity in human in vitro models of infection caused by Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), influenza and rhinovirus.

In these models, bemcentinib downregulated IL-6 and IL-8, two important inflammatory cytokines associated with the severity of hospitalized respiratory infections. Clinically, patients with viral respiratory infections can develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a life-threatening condition. In ARDS patients, cytokines - a type of inflammatory protein - are released bringing neutrophils to the lung to fight infection.

These proteins, however, can leak into blood vessels, traveling through the body resulting in inflammation of other organs which may lead to organ failure.