Cantex Pharmaceuticals, a Weston-based drug maker, said that it plans to develop  azeliragon, a small-molecule drug identified by Harvard’s Wyss Institute, for the treatment of inflammatory lung diseases including COVID-19. The company said that it has  secured a global licence from Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development (OTD) after the drug exhibited significant reduction in the production of inflammation-causing cytokines including IL-6, IL-8, and IP-10 as well as RANTES, a key proinflammatory cytokine produced by virus-infected lung cells, following viral infection. The company pointed out that previous clinical trials of the drug had also demonstrated a high level of safety in Phase 3 clinical trials involving over 2,000 patients, for Alzheimer’s Disease. Cantex also revealed its plans to initiate Phase 2 clinical trials exploring azeliragon in pancreatic and breast cancers