BEVERLY, Mass., October 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTCQB:IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, is pleased to provide a development update for Brilacidin as a promising novel, non-corticosteroid, non-biologic treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
Following the successful completion of its Phase 2 Proof-of-Concept (PoC) trial in Ulcerative Proctitis/Ulcerative Proctosigmoiditis (UP/UPS), in which a majority of patients treated with Brilacidin achieved Clinical Remission (including Endoscopic Improvement), the Company is making plans to advance the clinical development of Brilacidin-IBD.
Update
Oral formulation plans are underway to deliver Brilacidin more widely throughout the GI tract so as to enable treatment of more extensive forms of IBD—Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. A meeting with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is being requested to help inform appropriate next steps for our Brilacidin-IBD program, such as the size and scope of subsequent clinical trials. Finally, the Company plans to continue exploration of Brilacidin’s various mechanisms of action, including its anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, as well as its immunomodulatory and wound healing capabilities—all of which likely have a role in Brilacidin’s ability to treat IBD. Brilacidin already has been shown to inhibit Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4), which has been identified as a novel therapeutic approach in treating IBD. The academic literature further suggests a defensin/mucin deficiency in IBD, indicating Brilacidin may also have an important compensatory effect in this area.
“On the heels of a successful Proof-of-Concept study of Brilacidin in IBD, we look forward to continuing the Company’s momentum in this area,” commented Arthur P. Bertolino, MD, PhD, MBA, President and Chief Medical Officer at Innovation Pharmaceuticals. “Given IBD’s complex pathogenesis and variability in patient response to any one drug, new treatments are needed. More broadly, discussions remain ongoing with numerous global pharmaceutical companies, which, like us, see the considerable potential of Brilacidin as a multi-faceted drug candidate, with possible application across multiple therapeutic areas. The beauty of Brilacidin is that it was designed not only to mimic but actually to improve the body’s innate immune response—and that’s exactly what we’re now seeing translate into the clinic in the form of favorable patient outcomes.”
“The results of the Brilacidin distal colitis study are exciting,” noted Dr. Francis A. Farraye, MD, MSc, Clinical Director, Section of Gastroenterology at Boston Medical Center, Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and Scientific Advisor to Innovation Pharmaceuticals. “Brilacidin—particularly once formulated for oral delivery, offering broader coverage for more extensive forms of IBD and possibly an even greater therapeutic effect—has the potential to offer GI practitioners a novel, easily-administered therapeutic option for chronic, hard-to-treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I am pleased to continue my involvement with the Company as we look to advance Brilacidin into future IBD trials.”
Linked to below is additional information on PDE4-inhibition and defensin-based therapies as promising new treatment approaches in IBD drug development:
- "PDE4-Inhibition and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Novel Therapeutic Avenue"
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(6), 1276
http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/18/6/1276/htm - “Deficient Defensins and Missing Mucins in the Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease”
http://www.ipharminc.com/new-blog/2017/10/24/deficient-defensins-and-missing-mucins-in-the-pathogenesis-of-inflammatory-bowel-disease