WAKEFIELD, MA – February 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Innovation Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB:IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today the Company signed a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) with one of the country’s 12 Regional Biocontainment Labs (RBLs) to research its lead defensin mimetic drug candidate, Brilacidin, as a potential novel coronavirus treatment. As disclosed last week, the Company has been receiving inquiries about the potential to use a defensin mimetic to meet an urgent global need to treat COVID-19, the new coronavirus outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, in December and has since spread to 48 countries today without any effective approved therapies.
Now the MTA has been signed, the first shipments of Brilacidin will be made to the RBL in the coming days.
Under terms of the agreement, scientific research partners at the RBL plan to evaluate Brilacidin’s potential antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties in the context of viral infections, including inhibition of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. Mechanism of action studies of Brilacidin, along with assessing possible synergistic effects with other antivirals, are also planned. It is anticipated these tests might be completed within several weeks of the RBL’s receipt of Brilacidin.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak poses a significant life-threatening and economic risk throughout the world. Over 82,500 cases have been diagnosed across 48 countries, including here in the U.S., resulting in over 2,800 reported deaths. The Trump Administration is looking to allocate approximately $2.5 billion in emergency funds to help prepare the country should the current coronavirus crisis become a public health care threat in the U.S. Other governments and global health authorities are taking similarly aggressive steps to prepare for the virus’s continued spread.
Brilacidin is one of the few drugs targeting COVID-19 that has been tested in clinical trials for other clinical indications. Innovation Pharmaceuticals continues to explore additional research collaborations and funding opportunities with leading U.S. and Asian-based virology laboratories, global public health coalitions, and rapid-response government-backed efforts.