WAKEFIELD, MA – June 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Innovation Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB:IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announces today the Company and researchers at a U.S. Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) are collaborating on a federal grant application to be submitted this week.
The proposed research aims to evaluate Brilacidin as a potential pan-coronavirus therapeutic, for treating SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV, including extending the current in vitro testing of Brilacidin to in vivo testing. Longer-term objectives include potentially performing additional research to develop Brilacidin as a broad-spectrum antiviral, with possible application beyond coronaviruses, e.g., treating other viruses, such as encephalitic alphaviruses and filoviruses.
The ongoing Brilacidin anti-SARS-CoV-2 research being conducted at the RBL is separate from the ongoing research being performed at a Public Health Research Institute (PHRI). The lead researchers at both the RBL and at the PHRI have informed the Company they plan to submit their findings, separately, upon completion of in vitro testing, for peer-review publication.
For researchers and institutions interested in collaborating on Brilacidin for COVID-19, please send inquiries to: covid19@ipharminc.com
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 an established safety and efficacy database on over 460 subjects, thereby potentially enabling it to rapidly help address the novel coronavirus crisis. Ongoing laboratory testing conducted at a U.S. Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL), and at a Public Health Research Institute (PHRI), supports Brilacidin’s antiviral ability to safely inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in both animal and human cell lines. A molecular screening study of 11,552 compounds also supports Brilacidin as a promising novel coronavirus treatment. Additional pre-clinical and clinical data support Brilacidin’s potential to inhibit 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. These data collectively support Brilacidin as a unique 3 in 1 combination—antiviral, immuno/anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial—anti-COVID-19 therapeutic candidate.