· Company advancing Brilacidin as a next-generation broad-spectrum antiviral for the treatment of common colds and deadly coronavirus infections
WAKEFIELD, MA – November 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Innovation Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB:IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, today announces additional independent preliminary laboratory research suggests Brilacidin, the Company’s flagship defensin mimetic, has the potential to treat other endemic human coronaviruses (H-CoVs), such as those causing common colds, and not just SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus responsible for the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. Research shows Brilacidin exerted potent in vitro inhibition of multiple strains of H-CoVs. On completion of testing, the H-CoV findings are expected to be submitted for peer-review publication. The Company is evaluating these data alongside previously obtained SARS-CoV-2 data, strategizing with its scientific advisors and consultants, to develop Brilacidin as a “pan-coronavirus” therapeutic.
In related news, requisite documentation has been filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies, including an Investigational New Drug application (IND) with the FDA, for conduct of a multinational Phase 2 clinical trial of Brilacidin in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Innovation Pharmaceuticals believes Brilacidin is a clearly differentiated leading antiviral drug candidate backstopped by a growing library of laboratory data documenting Brilacidin’s potent ability to inhibit coronaviruses, primarily by disrupting viral integrity and blocking viral entry. The Company is planning to conduct additional in vitro and in vivo Brilacidin studies on multiple coronaviruses, to further inform the drug’s anti-coronavirus properties and prepare for potential future clinical testing.
“Given the alarming recent global spike in COVID-19 cases, coupled with a long-term perspective around the possibility of future pandemics, the appetite for novel anti-coronavirus therapeutics remains strong, as evidenced by Merck paying $425 million in cash last week to acquire OncoImmune to bolster its COVID-19 pipeline,” commented Leo Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer at Innovation Pharmaceuticals. “Early data on vaccines are an encouraging development in combatting the virus. But vaccines have their own challenges—notably, reticence among the public to get vaccinated, combined with delivery obstacles and potential resistance developing due to mutations. Vaccines offer only a partial solution. Major pharma understands this and it is why they are making significant investments in promising COVID-19 therapeutics. The clinical trial of Brilacidin for COVID-19 will be instrumental in taking the first step to develop Brilacidin as a ‘pan-coronavirus’ drug, benefiting patients with illnesses ranging from variants of the common cold to the most serious coronavirus infections.”
Brilacidin and COVID-19
Brilacidin is one of the few drugs targeting COVID-19 that has been tested in human trials (a total of 8) for other clinical indications, providing established safety and efficacy data on over 460 subjects, thereby potentially enabling it to rapidly help address the novel coronavirus crisis. Laboratory testing at independent laboratories supports Brilacidin’s antiviral ability to safely and potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2. In a human lung cell line, Brilacidin achieved a Selectivity Index of 426. A molecular screening study of 11,552 compounds also supports Brilacidin as a promising novel coronavirus treatment. Brilacidin anti-viral research to date has been limited to laboratory-based experiments. Additional pre-clinical and clinical data support Brilacidin’s inhibition of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α and other pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which have been identified as central drivers in the worsening prognoses of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Brilacidin’s robust antimicrobial properties might also help to fight secondary bacterial infections, which can co-present in up to 20 percent of COVID-19 patients. Collectively, these data support Brilacidin as a unique 3 in 1 combination—antiviral, immuno/anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial—COVID-19 therapeutic candidate. A preprint supporting Brilacidin’s COVID-19 treatment potential can be downloaded on bioRxiv.org at the link below.
· Brilacidin, a COVID-19 Drug Candidate, Exhibits Potent In Vitro Antiviral Activity Against SARS-CoV-2
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.29.352450v1.full
Global COVID-19 Cases and Mortality
An online tool tracking COVID-19 cases and mortality, both in the U.S. and globally, can be found on the Company’s website ( http://www.ipharminc.com ), and at the following link: https://ipixcovid19tracker.com/