Dr. William F. DeGrado, a Discoverer of Brilacidin
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Posted On: 08/26/2020 9:36:14 AM
Dr. William F. DeGrado, a Discoverer of Brilacidin, Joins Innovation Pharmaceuticals as Scientific Advisor
BY GlobeNewswire
— 9:30 AM ET 08/26/2020
WAKEFIELD, Mass., Aug. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovation Pharmaceuticals ( IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announces today that Dr. William F. DeGrado has joined the Company as a Scientific Advisor. In this role, he will help guide the continuing clinical development of Brilacidin, the Company’s defensin-mimetic drug candidate, including against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).
“I am excited to be involved again with Brilacidin, a unique biomimetic drug candidate that has been properly advanced clinically by Innovation across multiple indications,” said William F. DeGrado, PhD, Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at University of California San Francisco (UCSF). “I look forward to collaborating with the Innovation team—most urgently, toward developing Brilacidin as a promising therapeutic to treat the novel coronavirus and possibly other viruses. Brilacidin already has exhibited intriguing anti-SARS-CoV-2 in vitro inhibitory efficacy at clinically-achievable concentrations based on Brilacidin pharmacokinetics seen in earlier clinical testing. The world is in dire need of new antiviral treatments and Brilacidin is well-positioned potentially to emerge as one.”
DeGrado continued: “Although some defensins and other types of host defense peptides have been reported to be active against SARS-CoV-2, Brilacidin has the advantage of being a non-peptide—a synthetic, small molecule designed to be much more stable in the human body and its therapeutic properties optimized. Additionally, Brilacidin has progressed through Phase 2 clinical trials, including one in which it was administered orally for the treatment of Oral Mucositis. I am happy to advise Innovation Pharmaceuticals ( IPIX
) on the continuing development of Brilacidin for this indication, COVID-19, and other ongoing clinical applications.”
“Dr. DeGrado and his scientific peers were ahead of the times when they created Brilacidin nearly two decades ago,” said Leo Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer of Innovation Pharmaceuticals ( IPIX). “The underlying science behind Brilacidin’s biomimetic design was pioneering. The Innovation team looks forward to working closely with Dr. DeGrado to bring this technology to patients suffering from serious illness and disease.”
Dr. DeGrado, one of the scientific co-discoverers of Brilacidin while a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is a renowned medicinal chemist and current faculty member at UCSF in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry. His laboratory at UCSF (https://pharm.ucsf.edu/degrado) focuses on small molecule and protein design. Dr. DeGrado has authored over 400 academic publications, holds more than 25 patents, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Inventors, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also past President of the Protein Society. Among his scientific honors and achievements, in 2003, he received the Merrifield Award by the American Peptide Society, and he was presented, in 2015, with The Protein Society’s Stein and Moore Award.
BY GlobeNewswire
— 9:30 AM ET 08/26/2020
WAKEFIELD, Mass., Aug. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovation Pharmaceuticals ( IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announces today that Dr. William F. DeGrado has joined the Company as a Scientific Advisor. In this role, he will help guide the continuing clinical development of Brilacidin, the Company’s defensin-mimetic drug candidate, including against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).
“I am excited to be involved again with Brilacidin, a unique biomimetic drug candidate that has been properly advanced clinically by Innovation across multiple indications,” said William F. DeGrado, PhD, Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at University of California San Francisco (UCSF). “I look forward to collaborating with the Innovation team—most urgently, toward developing Brilacidin as a promising therapeutic to treat the novel coronavirus and possibly other viruses. Brilacidin already has exhibited intriguing anti-SARS-CoV-2 in vitro inhibitory efficacy at clinically-achievable concentrations based on Brilacidin pharmacokinetics seen in earlier clinical testing. The world is in dire need of new antiviral treatments and Brilacidin is well-positioned potentially to emerge as one.”
DeGrado continued: “Although some defensins and other types of host defense peptides have been reported to be active against SARS-CoV-2, Brilacidin has the advantage of being a non-peptide—a synthetic, small molecule designed to be much more stable in the human body and its therapeutic properties optimized. Additionally, Brilacidin has progressed through Phase 2 clinical trials, including one in which it was administered orally for the treatment of Oral Mucositis. I am happy to advise Innovation Pharmaceuticals ( IPIX
) on the continuing development of Brilacidin for this indication, COVID-19, and other ongoing clinical applications.”
“Dr. DeGrado and his scientific peers were ahead of the times when they created Brilacidin nearly two decades ago,” said Leo Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer of Innovation Pharmaceuticals ( IPIX). “The underlying science behind Brilacidin’s biomimetic design was pioneering. The Innovation team looks forward to working closely with Dr. DeGrado to bring this technology to patients suffering from serious illness and disease.”
Dr. DeGrado, one of the scientific co-discoverers of Brilacidin while a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is a renowned medicinal chemist and current faculty member at UCSF in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry. His laboratory at UCSF (https://pharm.ucsf.edu/degrado) focuses on small molecule and protein design. Dr. DeGrado has authored over 400 academic publications, holds more than 25 patents, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Inventors, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also past President of the Protein Society. Among his scientific honors and achievements, in 2003, he received the Merrifield Award by the American Peptide Society, and he was presented, in 2015, with The Protein Society’s Stein and Moore Award.
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