ARDS is a serious lung condition characterized by acute, diffuse, inflammatory lung injury resulting from a range of predisposing etiologies. ARDS generally progresses from a stage of damage to one where “air” (gas) exchange unit becomes compromised, which is followed by a proliferative repair response by the body’s fibroblasts, ultimately leading to lung fibrosis and scarring likely resulting in an increase in morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. 

The emergence of COVID-19 has led to an increase in the incidence of ARDS in a significant number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, who may also have other significant complications in the renal, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and central nervous systems. At this juncture in the pandemic, we are now seeing incidences of not only acute ARDS associated from COVID-19 but also increased reports of “long-COVID”, which we are just beginning to understand. In the future, we will be exploring the potential benefits of PHP-303 treatment across the spectrum of ARDS-related syndromes focusing not only on acute ARDS but also on the more protracted or chronic ARDS-Covid-19 situation.

The estimated incidence of ARDS in the US ranges from 64.2- 78.9 cases/100,000 people with 75% of these patients presenting with moderate to severe disease. An earlier report (2017) estimated the incidence of ARDS to range from 1.5-79 cases/100,000 people in European countries.