WAKEFIELD, MA / April 17, 2023 Innovation Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB:IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced publication of Brilacidin antifungal research in Nature Communications, a leading peer-reviewed scientific journal. The paper, discussing combinations of Brilacidin and other antifungal drugs toward improving treatment outcomes in fungal infections, is available at the link below:
· dos Reis, T.F., de Castro, P.A., Bastos, R.W. et al. A host defense peptide mimetic, brilacidin, potentiates caspofungin antifungal activity against human pathogenic fungi. Nat Commun 14, 2052 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37573-y
To date, Brilacidin has demonstrated varying degrees of antifungal activity, both in vitro and in vivo, in 14 of 19 “priority” fungal pathogens identified by the World Health Organization, with research ongoing in collaboration with NIH/NIAID-affiliated researchers and other academic groups.
“There is a critical need for new antifungal agents,” commented Gustavo H. Goldman, Professor of Molecular Biology, at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, and a Chief Editor for Frontiers in Fungal Biology. “The clinical utility of currently available antifungal treatments is limited due to emerging drug resistance, toxicity, fungistatic and not fungicidal properties, as well as drug interaction concerns. Brilacidin’s ability to potentiate marketed antifungals, such as caspofungin, in multiple human pathogenic fungi, while showing strong stand-alone potency against the hard-to-treat fungal pathogen, C. neoformans, clearly supports Brilacidin’s potential to be developed as a novel antifungal. Myself, along with team members, are looking forward to exploring Brilacidin’s direct antifungal activity and possible favorable modulation of the host response following infection.”
Dr. Goldman, a co-author of the Nature Communications paper, has now agreed to join the Company as a Scientific Advisor, helping guide the study of Brilacidin in the area of mycology and fungal diseases. He is an expert in fungal genetics and antifungal resistance and his laboratory at USP focuses on the molecular biology of human fungal pathogens. Among his scientific achievements, Dr. Goldman has authored over 300 publications, is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and European Confederation of Medical Mycology.