ACE2 Chewing Gum on SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load (COVID 19)

March 25, 2025 updated by: University of Pennsylvania

A Phase 1/2, Randomized Double-blind Placebo-Controlled Trial to Test the Safety and Antiviral Activity of ACE2 Chewing Gum on SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load (COVID 19)

A randomized double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial of the safety, tolerability, and antiviral activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) chewing gum over a 3-day period in non-hospitalized subjects with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Withdrawn

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • Infectious Diseases Clinical Trial Unit

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Able and willing to provide informed consent prior to initiation of study procedures.
  2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study.
  3. Male or female, aged 18 years to 65 years.
  4. Had a positive PCR or antigen test for SARS-CoV-2 within 72 hours of enrollment.
  5. In the opinion of the investigator, has the ability to comply with study procedures including chewing the study products (gum).
  6. Stated willingness to refrain from brushing, eating or using any oral health care products, including mouth rinses at least one hour prior to first saliva sample.
  7. Stated willingness to abstain from eating mints or other chewing gums during the duration of the study.
  8. Stated willingness to abstain from using mouth rinse/gargling solutions at the time of enrollment and for the duration of the study.
  9. Stated willingness to use an acceptable method of birth control throughout duration of the study. Acceptable methods include hormonal contraceptives, barrier methods, abstinence, or other effective methods approved by the PI.
  10. Stated ability and willingness to store saliva samples at approximately 40° F for 3 days.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Individuals receiving antiviral medications that are thought to be active against SARS-CoV-2 in the opinion of the investigator.
  2. Individuals receiving oral or injectable antimicrobial medications (antibacterial, antiviral, antibiotics, including hydroxychloroquine) at time of enrollment.
  3. Currently undergoing cancer treatment.
  4. Pregnant or breastfeeding women.
  5. Participation in any other clinical trial within the past 14 days that used an investigational drug product.
  6. Admitted to the hospital or other medical facility or in the opinion of the investigator expected to require admission to a medical facility for the duration of the study.
  7. Taking chronic immunosuppressive medications at time of enrollment, defined as immunomodulatory agents or a prednisolone dose greater than 10 mg a day.
  8. Uncontrolled hypertension, defined as ≥160 mmHg systolic or ≥100 mmHg diastolic.
  9. Allergy/hypersensitivity to lettuce, gelatin (plant based), stevia, or unwillingness to consume genetically modified plant material.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: ACE2 Chewing Gum
Drug: ACE2 Chewing Gum
The IP is formulated as an oral plant powder, which is packaged into a chewing gum. No specific excipient, buffer, salt or pH is required. CTB-ACE2, with efficient binding to both GM1 and ACE2 receptors, effectively blocks binding of the spike protein and viral entry into human cells. Oral epithelial cells are enriched with both receptors. In addition, ACE2 directly binds to the spike protein and inactivates SARS-CoV-2 virus. Therefore, CTB-ACE2 chewing gum is being evaluated for impact on entry and transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Chewing Gum
Other: Placebo Chewing Gum
Chewing gum containing wild-type lyophilized plant cells manufactured to match the IP.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Evaluate the safety and tolerability of CTB-ACE2 chewing gum.
Time Frame: At time of consent through Day 28
The safety and tolerability in COVID 19+ adult individuals as measured by frequency of solicited adverse events (AEs).
At time of consent through Day 28

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Test the antiviral activity of ACE2 chewing gum on reducing SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the oral cavity of COVID-19+ individuals via authorized PCR.
Time Frame: Days 1-4
The change in amount of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva before and after intervention (chewing gum for 10 minutes) via authorized PCR; this includes after first use and sustained use over 3 days.
Days 1-4
Evaluate the Symptom score of documented SARS-CoV-2 infection relative to treatment group (CTB-ACE2 chewing gum/placebo).
Time Frame: Days 1-4
Symptom score of documented SARS-CoV-2 infection relative to treatment group (CTB-ACE2 chewing gum/placebo).
Days 1-4

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Test the antiviral activity of ACE2 chewing gum on reducing SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the oral cavity of COVID-19+ individuals via antigen quantitation analysis.
Time Frame: Days 1-4
The change in amount of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva before and after intervention (chewing gum for 10 minutes) via antigen quantitation analysis; this includes after first use and sustained use over 3 days.
Days 1-4

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Pennsylvania

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 24, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 24, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 27, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 30, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 25, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 851459

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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