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>>> Inhibitory Effect of Innovation Pharmaceuticals’ Brilacidin on SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in Primary Human Immune Cells to be Studied at Leading Public Health Research Institute

05/05/2020

https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/IPIX/news/Inhibitory-Effect-of-Innovation-Pharmaceuticals-Brilacidin-on-SARS-CoV-2-COVID-19-in-Primary-Human-Immune-Cells-to-be-St?id=261051

WAKEFIELD, Mass., May 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovation Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB:IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, is pleased to report the Company has executed a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) with a leading U.S.-based Public Health Research Institute, with access to a Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory, to evaluate the immunomodulatory and antiviral properties of Brilacidin in relation to COVID-19. This new research is separate from the previously announced antiviral studies being conducted at a U.S. Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL), which over the weekend informed us that the next phase of Brilacidin testing has commenced.

Scientists at the Public Health Research Institute plan to evaluate Brilacidin’s inhibitory effect on SARS-CoV-2 viral replication in primary immune mediators (peripheral blood mononuclear cells, T cells, B cells, monocytes, macrophages) obtained from both young and old donors to assess age-dependent host responses to the novel coronavirus. Brilacidin drug substance has been received by the Institute and is now available for testing.

The Company appreciates the support and interest in Brilacidin from these government-funded laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic. A great deal of important research on the antiviral properties of Brilacidin is ongoing, which further underscores the overall therapeutic potential of our first-in-class defensin-mimetic. Based upon the data to date, the Company is hopeful that Brilacidin can become a breakthrough treatment for COVID-19 patients, exhibiting unique 3-in-1 properties—antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial.

Brilacidin and COVID-19

Brilacidin is one of the few drugs targeting COVID-19 that has been tested in Phase 2 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. Lab testing conducted at a U.S.-based Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) supports Brilacidin’s antiviral activity in directly inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 in cellular assays, with a molecular screening study of 11,552 compounds also supporting it as a promising novel coronavirus treatment. Additional pre-clinical and clinical data support Brilacidin’s potential to inhibit the production of IL-6, IL-1b, TNF-a and other pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines (e.g., MCP-1), which have been identified as central drivers in the worsening prognoses of COVID-19 patients. Brilacidin’s 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 particularly promising and unique (3 in 1 combination: antiviral, immune/anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial) anti-COVID-19 therapeutic candidate.

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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