Innovation Pharmaceuticals Announces Testing Procedures of Brilacidin Against Coronavirus (COVID-19)
WAKEFIELD, MA – March 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Innovation Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB:IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today research procedures that one of the 12 Regional Biocontainment Labs (RBLs) in the United States will follow when testing Brilacidin, the Company’s lead defensin mimetic drug candidate, against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. Testing is scheduled to begin the week of March 16.
Staff scientists at the RBL will evaluate Brilacidin’s potential inhibitory efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 in lung epithelial cell lines, as well as its potential inhibitory effect in viral replication of the alphavirus (with Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus [VEEV] as a prototype) in different cell lines. VEEV has been chosen as a prototype because of the RBL’s focus in this area, possessing in-house necessary assays to assess the antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity of a given compound. Brilacidin also will be compared with other small molecules to assess Brilacidin’s potential relative efficacy.
Should Brilacidin show promise (a minimum of 1.5-2 log inhibition in the low micromolar range), testing will be expanded to include additional mechanism of action studies to determine Brilacidin’s specific inhibitory activity across the lifecycle of the SARS-CoV-2 virus—viral entry, viral RNA and viral release. Host kinase landscape may also be explored to determine if Brilacidin has any effect on the kinase function of specific target kinases by multiplexed proteomics strategies. Last, synergistic studies of Brilacidin, with other antivirals, might also be pursued.
About Brilacidin and COVID-19
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak poses a significant life-threatening and economic risk throughout the world. Over 126,000 cases have been diagnosed in at least 110 countries, resulting in at least 4,600 reported deaths, including over 1,200 cases and 37 fatalities in the U.S. There are no effective approved therapies to treat COVID-19. Brilacidin is one of the few drugs targeting COVID-19 that has been tested in human trials for other clinical indications, providing an established safety and efficacy profile, thereby potentially enabling it to rapidly help address the emerging worldwide coronavirus crisis, developed both as an intravenous medicine and as a vaccine. There is no assurance made or implied that testing Brilacidin for antiviral activity against any coronavirus will be successful.
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About Innovation Pharmaceuticals
Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IPIX) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a world-class portfolio of innovative therapies addressing multiple areas of unmet medical need, including inflammatory diseases, cancer, infectious disease, and dermatologic diseases. Brilacidin, a versatile compound with broad therapeutic potential, is in a new chemical class called defensin-mimetics. A Phase 2 trial of Brilacidin as an oral rinse for the prevention of Severe Oral Mucositis (SOM) in patients with Head and Neck Cancer, met its primary and secondary endpoints, including reducing the incidence of SOM. The Company plans to advance Brilacidin oral rinse into Phase 3 development, subject to available financial resources. Positive results were also observed in a Phase 2 Proof-of-Concept trial treating patients locally with Brilacidin for Ulcerative Proctitis/Ulcerative Proctosigmoiditis (UP/UPS). Brilacidin for UP/UPS was licensed to Alfasigma S.p.A. in July 2019. A Phase 2b trial of Brilacidin showed a single intravenous dose of the drug delivered comparable outcomes to a seven-day dosing regimen of the FDA-approved blockbuster daptomycin in treating Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infection. Kevetrin is a novel anti-cancer drug shown to modulate p53, often referred to as the “Guardian Angel Gene” due to its crucial role in controlling cell mutations and has successfully completed a Phase 2 trial in Ovarian Cancer. More information is available on the Company website at www.IPharmInc.com.
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