logo
NanoViricides, Inc. Has Filed its Quarterly Report:  Broad-Spectrum Antiviral NV-387 To Combat MPox Pandemic in Africa -  Phase II Clinical Trial Update, Also Readying to Combat Measles Outbreaks, and to Tackle Bird Flu

NanoViricides, Inc. Has Filed its Quarterly Report: Broad-Spectrum Antiviral NV-387 To Combat MPox Pandemic in Africa - Phase II Clinical Trial Update, Also Readying to Combat Measles Outbreaks, and to Tackle Bird Flu

Miami Herald16-05-2025

SHELTON, CT / ACCESS Newswire / May 16, 2025 / NanoViricides, Inc. (NYSE Amer.:NNVC) (the "Company"), reports that it has filed its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ending March 31, 2025 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday, May 15, 2025. The report can be accessed at the SEC website (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1379006/000141057825001336/nnvc-20250331x10q.htm) .
NV-387 - Phase II Clinical Trial to Treat MPox Infection - Unmet Medical Need
We reported that we submitted requisite due diligence information to the National Ethics Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) including a draft report from the Phase I clinical trial for the safety and tolerability of oral formulations of NV-387, the summary information from our studies for treatment of lethal MPox infections in animal models, as well as summary information on the manufacturing.
The National Ethics Committee found that the provided information was sufficient to justify a Phase II clinical trial, and has cleared us to file a Phase II Clinical Trial Application for the Use of Oral NV-387 for the Treatment of MPox Disease Caused by the hMPXV virus, subsequent to the reporting period.
We also reported that we have commissioned manufacture of clinical trial quantities of NV-387 drug substance and the corresponding NV-387 oral gummies formulations drug products at our own cGMP compliant facility in Shelton, CT.
We are now preparing the Phase II Clinical Trial Application for NV-387 to combat MPOX for submission to the DRC regulatory agency.
There is no drug available for the treatment of MPox disease. The MPox Clade 1a/1b viruses have a substantially greater fatality rate than COVID, at 3-4%, and Clade 1b has been disproportionately affecting pediatric populations.
The MPox Disease which is caused by hMPXV Clade 1a/1b virus infection was initially declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the WHO in August 2024, a designation that has been continued to stay in effect in April 2025, due to the severity of the pandemic in WHO African Region.
Spillover cases of MPox Clade 1a/1b have occurred in several Eastern and Western countries already, raising the probability that the epidemic may spread more widely, although the current MPox virus is not as communicable as Coronaviruses or Measles virus.
MPox Clade 2 spilled over from Africa into the Western World in a small pandemic during 2022, and has become endemic with several cases occurring every year in many countries, driven primarily by sexual contact. MPox Clade 2 causes much less severe disease than the Clade 1a and 1b viruses.
MPox/Smallpox drug represents a billion dollar market globally, should an effective drug be developed, because of potential biosecurity implications.
NV-387 as Treatment for Measles Virus Infection - Unmet Medical Need
Upon finding significant rationale that NV-387 would be potentially highly effective against the Measles virus, we have initiated a program to evaluate NV-387 in a humanized animal model of Measles lethal infection.
The Measles outbreaks in the USA have continued to grow since January, 2025, and have crossed 1,000 confirmed cases as well as 3 deaths. Measles cases have been increasing year over year in the USA, especially after the COVID pandemic substantially resolved with the SARS-CoV-2 becoming an endemic virus. In Europe, over 35,000 cases of Measles have been reported in 2024 according to the European CDC.
A 95% vaccination coverage is required to eliminate Measles virus. This has become a practically impossible goal because of several factors, among them: (i) Vaccine Hesitancy as a rebound public response because of compulsion of COVID vaccine shots multiple times; (ii) Religious Vaccine Prohibitions in certain communities, including certain Jewish religious communities, Mennonites, and other conservative religious communities; (iii) Increasing immune function disability in the general population due to chronic diseases such as Diabetes, Obesity, Cardiac Issues, Autoimmune Diseases, Allergies, etc. wherein the person upon vaccination would not develop strong enough immunity and would become a carrier if infected; (iv) Vaccine Failure caused primarily by a variety of immune function disabilities.
The Measles vaccination rates across the world, and particularly in European countries and the USA have dipped well below 95% on average, and much lower in specific areas, and vaccine breakout cases i.e. Measles disease in vaccinated persons, have also increased substantially, as seen from the ECDC statistics [1] , [2] .
It is therefore essential to develop a drug to treat Measles in order to combat these outbreaks and achieve full control over the public health situation. There is no drug available for treatment of Measles.
We strongly expect that NV-387 would be effective against Measles. This is because NV-387 cured lethal RSV infection in an animal model. RSV and Measles both are paramyxoviruses, and both use HSPG as the Attachment Receptor, and then transfer to their respective Cognate Receptor that is needed for cell fusion. NV-387 was designed to present to the virus like a cell that displays HSPG-mimetic small chemical ligands on its surface, thereby providing the attachment-receptor-mimetic landing sites for the virus, capturing, engulfing, and destroying it. (HSPG = Heparan Sulfated Proteoglycans).
NV-387 as Treatment for Bird Flu, H5N1, H7N9 - Unmet Medical Need
We have previously found that NV-387 was substantially more effective than the existing stockpiled influenza virus treatments including Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Xofluza (baloxavir) in lethal animal models of Influenza virus lung infection.
Given the extremely broad antiviral activity spectrum of NV-387, and knowing that the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) viruses such as H5N1 and H7N9 have polybasic sequences in their H-protein that bind to HSPG, we believe NV-387 would be effective against Bird Flu viruses.
Influenza viruses mutate rapidly, and also exchange their full genomic RNA segments with other co-infecting viruses ("Re-assortment"), or copy portions of a different genomic sequence into their own RNA ("Re-combination"). Thereby an Influenza virus can acquire new traits such as (i) rapid communicability from person-to-person, and (ii) readily escaping vaccines, antibodies, and the small chemical drugs such as oseltamivir and baloxavir.
NV-387, we believe, fulfills the unmet medical need for a pan-Influenza drug that the Influenza virus would not be able to escape, because the virus does not lose its ability bind to HSPG as Attachment Receptor and then to Sialic Acid Receptors leading to cell fusion and infection.
A severe version of H5N1 is widely circulating in the wild birds, and has caused sporadic losses of entire poultry farm houses. This, and a mild version of H5N1 have infected thousands of dairy herds in the USA. The H5N1 virus is only a few mutations away from becoming highly communicable from person to person, and if that comes to bear, we would be facing a pandemic possibly worse than COVID-19.
It is well established now that vaccines, antibodies, and small chemical drugs do not provide the ability to stall an outbreak let alone a pandemic caused by a highly variable virus such as a Coronavirus or an Influenza virus.
We believe NV-387 will be ready to fight any human outbreaks of H5N1 under emergency use protocols for investigational drugs.
Company Financials
We reported that, as of March 31, 2025, we had cash and cash equivalent current assets balance of approximately $2.73 Million. In addition, we reported approximately $6.98 Million in Net Property and Equipment (P&E) assets (after depreciation). The strong P&E assets comprise our cGMP-capable manufacturing and R&D facility in Shelton, CT. The total current liabilities were approximately $1.20 Million.
The net cash utilized during the nine months ended March 31, 2025 was approximately $6.78 million. This included certain non-recurring expenditures including R&D expenditures in preparation for a Phase II clinical trial application. We raised approximately $4.57 million net of commission and certain expenses in an At-the-Market offering ("ATM") during the nine months ended March 31, 2025.
We have approximately $5.7 million (approximately $4.5 million net of current liabilities) available for cash operational expenses going forward including an available line of credit of $3 million provided by our founder and President Dr. Anil Diwan. As such, we reported that we do not have sufficient funding in hand to continue operations through February 14, 2026, for our planned objectives that include (i) a Phase II clinical trial of NV-387 for MPOX in Central Africa, (ii) a Phase II clinical trial of NV-387 for Viral Acute and Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (V-ARI and V-SARI), and (iii) Preparation and pre-IND filing for a Phase II clinical trial of NV-387 for RSV indication in the USA. We have access to the aforementioned ATM Equity Offering, and we believe we will have access to the equity markets to raise the funds necessary for our current objectives. We continue to re-prioritize our programs in line with available resources.
NV-387 - Phase I Clinical Trial Completed Successfully with No Reported Adverse Events
NV-387 has successfully completed a Phase Ia/Ib clinical trial in healthy subjects with all subjects discharged as of end of December, 2023. There were no adverse events reported. We are now awaiting a final report of this Phase I clinical trial.
NV-387 A Potentially Revolutionary Antiviral Drug that the Viruses are Unlikely to Escape
Our host-mimetic, direct-acting, broad-spectrum, antiviral agent. NV-387 was found to have activity that surpassed the activity of known agents in lethal virus infection animal model trials for COVID, RSV, Influenza, and Mpox/Smallpox.
In fact, we found that NV-387 treatment possibly completely cured the lethal RSV infection in mice, based on indefinite survival of the animals with no lung pathology. There is currently no treatment for RSV infection. In particular, pediatric RSV infection treatment is an unmet medical need that we believe is of critical importance. Pediatric RSV treatment itself is expected to be a multi-billion-dollar market in the USA alone.
NV-387 treatment was found to be substantially superior to three approved anti-influenza drugs, namely, oseltamivir (Tamiflu®, Roche), peramivir (Rapivab®, Biocryst), and baloxavir (Xofluza®, Shionogi/Roche).
Additionally, NV-387 also demonstrated activity against lethal poxvirus infection animal models that was on par with or superior to the approved drug tecovirimat (TPOXX®, SIGA).
NV-387 acts by a mechanism that is significantly different compared to the tested existing antiviral agents for COVID, Influenza and Poxviruses.
This demonstrated broad-spectrum activity of NV-387 against widely varying viruses is because NV-387 is designed to attack the virus particle by mimicking sulfated proteoglycan (S-PG) feature, and all of these viruses are known to utilize heparan sulfate proteoglycans for gaining cell entry.
Further, for all of these tested viruses, even as the virus genome changes in the field, NV-387 is expected to continue to be effective, and the virus would be highly unlikely to escape NV-387. This is because despite all of the genomic changes, the virus continues to use HSPG, as is well known. Thus NV-387 solves the greatest problem in antiviral countermeasures; the problem of virus escape. Viruses are known to escape all of the current antiviral tools that include vaccines, antibodies, and small chemical drugs.
Thus we anticipate that NV-387 would revolutionize the treatment of viral infections reminiscent of how penicillin revolutionized the treatment of bacterial infections.
NV-387 Regulatory Strategy
In the ensuing year, we plan on advancing NV-387 into Phase II clinical trials. In addition to the Phase II clinical trial to assess effectiveness of NV-387 in treating MPox infections, we are also planning to advance NV-387 into a Phase II clinical trial for treatment of Viral Acute Respiratory Infections (V-ARI), and Viral Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (V-SARI). This clinical trial is expected to provide information on NV-387 effectiveness in treating Influenza viruses, Coronaviruses (including SARS-CoV-2/COVID) as well as RSV.
Thereafter we are planning a regulatory program for advancing NV-387 as the treatment of pediatric RSV infection.
We plan on advancing the regulatory processes for NV-387 registration for other indications including Influenza and COVID via partnerships and non-dilutive funding.
As we meet the milestones, we believe we will be able to raise financing for further regulatory activities for NV-387 registration via non-dilutive grant funding, partnership revenues, as well as equity-based funding.
About NanoViricides
NanoViricides, Inc. (the "Company") ( www.nanoviricides.com ) is a clinical stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for antiviral therapy. The Company's novel nanoviricide™ class of drug candidates and the nanoviricide™ technology are based on intellectual property, technology and proprietary know-how of TheraCour Pharma, Inc. The Company has a Memorandum of Understanding with TheraCour for the development of drugs based on these technologies for all antiviral infections. The MoU does not include cancer and similar diseases that may have viral origin but require different kinds of treatments.
The Company has obtained broad, exclusive, sub-licensable, field licenses to drugs developed in several licensed fields from TheraCour Pharma, Inc. The Company's business model is based on licensing technology from TheraCour Pharma Inc. for specific application verticals of specific viruses, as established at its foundation in 2005.
Our lead drug candidate is NV-387, a broad-spectrum antiviral drug that we plan to develop as a treatment of RSV, COVID, Long COVID, Influenza, and other respiratory viral infections, as well as MPOX/Smallpox infections. Our other advanced drug candidate is NV-HHV-1 for the treatment of Shingles. The Company cannot project an exact date for filing an IND for any of its drugs because of dependence on a number of external collaborators and consultants. The Company is currently focused on advancing NV-387 into Phase II human clinical trials.
The Company is also developing drugs against a number of viral diseases including oral and genital Herpes, viral diseases of the eye including EKC and herpes keratitis, H1N1 swine flu, H5N1 bird flu, seasonal Influenza, HIV, Hepatitis C, Rabies, Dengue fever, and Ebola virus, among others. NanoViricides' platform technology and programs are based on the TheraCour® nanomedicine technology of TheraCour, which TheraCour licenses from AllExcel. NanoViricides holds a worldwide exclusive perpetual license to this technology for several drugs with specific targeting mechanisms in perpetuity for the treatment of the following human viral diseases: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Rabies, Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-1 and HSV-2), Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV), Influenza and Asian Bird Flu Virus, Dengue viruses, Japanese Encephalitis virus, West Nile Virus, Ebola/Marburg viruses, and certain Coronaviruses. The Company intends to obtain a license for RSV, Poxviruses, and/or Enteroviruses if the initial research is successful. As is customary, the Company must state the risk factor that the path to typical drug development of any pharmaceutical product is extremely lengthy and requires substantial capital. As with any drug development efforts by any company, there can be no assurance at this time that any of the Company's pharmaceutical candidates would show sufficient effectiveness and safety for human clinical development. Further, there can be no assurance at this time that successful results against coronavirus in our lab will lead to successful clinical trials or a successful pharmaceutical product.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectation regarding future events. Actual events could differ materially and substantially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors. Certain statements in this release, and other written or oral statements made by NanoViricides, Inc. are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Although it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, they may include the following: demonstration and proof of principle in preclinical trials that a nanoviricide is safe and effective; successful development of our product candidates; our ability to seek and obtain regulatory approvals, including with respect to the indications we are seeking; the successful commercialization of our product candidates; and market acceptance of our products.
The phrases "safety", "effectiveness" and equivalent phrases as used in this press release refer to research findings including clinical trials as the customary research usage and do not indicate evaluation of safety or effectiveness by the US FDA.
FDA refers to US Food and Drug Administration. IND application refers to "Investigational New Drug" application. cGMP refers to current Good Manufacturing Practices. CMC refers to "Chemistry, Manufacture, and Controls". CHMP refers to the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, which is the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) committee responsible for human medicines. API stands for "Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient". WHO is the World Health Organization. R&D refers to Research and Development.
Contact:NanoViricides, Inc.info@nanoviricides.com
Public Relations Contact:ir@nanoviricides.com

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Nylon Performance Apparel Markets Report 2025: A Future Based on Bio-based and Recycled Materials?
Nylon Performance Apparel Markets Report 2025: A Future Based on Bio-based and Recycled Materials?

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Nylon Performance Apparel Markets Report 2025: A Future Based on Bio-based and Recycled Materials?

Nylon fibre, celebrated for qualities like durability and quick-dry, is a staple in performance apparel. The shift towards sustainability has seen recycled nylon production soar, with firms like Aquafil recycling carpets and nets into Econyl for high-end brands. Innovative recycling methods, like those by BASF and Samsara Eco, are gaining momentum. Partnerships, such as Toray's 100% bio-based solutions and Polartec's Biolon, highlight the industry's eco-evolution. Explore the future of eco-friendly fashion with cutting-edge recycled nylon solutions. Dublin, June 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Markets for nylon in performance apparel: a future based on bio-based and recycled materials?" report from Textiles Intelligence Ltd. has been added to fibre is widely used in a number of performance apparel applications, including protective clothing, sportswear and swimwear, because it boasts several desirable qualities - not least durability, easy washability, quick drying time, shrink resistance, stretch and wrinkle resistance. Notably, the production of recycled nylon is growing and several manufacturers have developed processes for producing nylon fibres from recycled waste. Furthermore, many more processes are in development, and recycled fibres are increasingly being used in the manufacture of high-end fabric and clothing for example, is processing used carpets and discarded fishing nets to produce Econyl-which has featured in collections from Burberry, and Gucci and The North Face. Also, Aquafil has formed a partnership with Geno to produce 100% renewable bio-based nylon. BASF is chemically processing used tyres to produce feedstock for the production of its Ultramid Ccycled nylon, and this, in turn, is being used by Fulgar in the manufacture of its Q-Cycle Eco has developed an enzymatic recycling method and has formed a partnership with Nilit to construct a textile-to-textile recycling plant in South-East has developed a novel depolymerisation process, and Asahi Kasei and Microwave Chemical are looking to commercialise a new chemical recycling process which uses microwave technology. Toray, for its part, has developed a 100% bio-based polyamide 510 variant called Ecodear N510, and it has also developed the world's first 100% bio-based adipic acid made from sugars derived from inedible meanwhile, is using a renewable bio-based nylon fibre called Biolon in the manufacture of a number of its fabrics and Topics Covered: Nylon 6 And Nylon 6.6 Compared Properties And Applications of Nylon In Performance Apparel Blends of Nylon With Other Fibres Nylon Fibre Production, Companies And Brands Companies And Brands Expansions Recycled Nylon Fibre Production Standards For Evaluating Recycled Nylon Bio-Based Nylon Fibre Production Potential For Growth In Production And Consumption of Bio-Based And Recycled Nylon Bio-Based And Recycled Nylon Aquafil: Econyl Aquafil And Genomatica (Geno): Bio-Nylon 6 Lululemon And Genomatica (Geno): Lower Environmental Impact Bio-Based Nylon Basf: Ultramid Ccycled Fulgar: Q-Cycle Samsara Eco And Nilit: Nylon 6.6 Polymer From Textile-To-Textile Recycling Nilit: Sensil Flow Syntetica: Depolymerisation Asahi Kasei And Microwave Chemical: Microwave Recycling Domo: Nyleo Toray Industries: Ecodear N510 Toray Industries: Bio-Based Adipic Acid Accelerating Commercial Biomass Adipic Acid Production Notable Recent Nylon Fabric And Garment Launches Pertex And Bureo: Fabrics Made With Netplus Teijin Frontier: Microft Mx Hybrid Nylon And Polyester Aquafil Econyl Yarn, Gucci And The North Face: The North Face X Gucci Collection Aquafil Econyl Yarn And Burberry: Reburberry Edit Invista: Cordura Re/Cor Rn66 Polartec: Power Shield And Power Stretch Pro Fabrics And Membranes Containing Biolon Invista And Royal Marines Commandos: Uniforms Made From Cordura Nyco Carhartt And Cordura: Yukon Extremes Collection Carrington Textiles: Spartan Ht Flex Lite Companies Featured Aquafil Burberry Gucci The North Face Geno (Genomatica) BASF Fulgar Samsara Eco Nilit Syntetica Asahi Kasei Microwave Chemical Toray Industries Polartec lululemon Domo Pertex Bureo Teijin Frontier Invista Royal Marines Commandos Carhartt Carrington Textiles For more information about this report visit About is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. CONTACT: CONTACT: Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@ For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Hudson Pacific Properties Declares Second Quarter 2025 Preferred Stock Dividend
Hudson Pacific Properties Declares Second Quarter 2025 Preferred Stock Dividend

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Hudson Pacific Properties Declares Second Quarter 2025 Preferred Stock Dividend

LOS ANGELES, June 10, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. (NYSE: HPP) (the "Company"), a unique provider of end-to-end real estate solutions for tech and media tenants, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a dividend for the second quarter of 2025 on its 4.750% Series C cumulative preferred stock of $0.296875 per share, equivalent to an annual rate of $1.18750 per share, which will be paid on June 30, 2025 to preferred stockholders of record on June 20, 2025. About Hudson Pacific Properties Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP) is a real estate investment trust serving dynamic tech and media tenants in global epicenters for these synergistic, converging and secular growth industries. Hudson Pacific's unique and high-barrier tech and media focus leverages a full-service, end-to-end value creation platform forged through deep strategic relationships and niche expertise across identifying, acquiring, transforming and developing properties into world-class amenitized, collaborative and sustainable office and studio space. For more information visit Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," or "potential" or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases that are predictions of or indicate future events, or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements reflect the Company's good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance. Furthermore, the Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and other risks described in documents subsequently filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC. View source version on Contacts Investor Contact Laura CampbellExecutive Vice President, Investor Relations & Marketing(310) 622-1702lcampbell@ Media Contact Laura MurrayVice President, Communications(310) 622-1781lmurray@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

U.S. SEC Chair Says Working on 'Innovation Exemption' for DeFi Platforms
U.S. SEC Chair Says Working on 'Innovation Exemption' for DeFi Platforms

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

U.S. SEC Chair Says Working on 'Innovation Exemption' for DeFi Platforms

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is working on policy to exempt decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms from regulatory barriers, said Chairman Paul Atkins. Software developers building DeFi tools have no business being blamed for how they're used, Atkins and other SEC Republicans contended at the final of five crypto roundtables that have been held at the agency since the leadership turnover under President Donald Trump. The chairman told a roundtable of DeFi experts on Monday that he's directed the SEC staff to look into changes to agency rules "to provide needed accommodation for issuers and intermediaries to seek to administer on-chain financial systems." Atkins called that potential exemptive relief "an innovation exemption" that would let entities under SEC jurisdiction bring on-chain products and services to market "expeditiously." "Many entrepreneurs are developing software applications that are designed to function without administration by any operator," Atkins said in remarks at the event. While he noted the technology enabling private peer-to-peer transactions can "sound like science fiction," he said "blockchain technology makes possible an entirely new class of software that can perform these functions without an intermediary." "We should not automatically fear the future," Atkins said. DeFi is a subsection of the broader cryptocurrency industry that seeks to recreate financial tools and products with code that replaces the role of traditional intermediaries such as banks and brokerages. The Republican members of the commission — currently outnumbering the Democrat 3-1 — have been eager to move forward with crypto-friendly policy. While DeFi is often given short shrift in policy discussions that focus more on regulation of the higher-volume industry of crypto exchanges, brokers and custodial services. Though DeFi developers have faced years of distrust from U.S. government agencies, Republicans now in power are seeking to lighten those pressures. "The SEC must not infringe on First Amendment rights by regulating someone who merely published code on the basis that others use that code to carry out activity that the SEC has traditionally regulated," said Commissioner Hester Peirce, who has led the SEC Crypto Task Force established this year. However, she also noted that "centralized entities can't avoid regulation simply by rolling out the decentralized label." Erik Voorhees, the founder of decentralized exchange ShapeShift, joked that when he got his first SEC subpoena 12 years ago, he didn't think he'd be invited to speak at the agency years later. "I appreciate the change of tone and the change of stance for the commission," he said. "I think that's absolutely a positive for America."Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store