Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc (IPIX)

[CallMeCrazy]

Brilacidin Might First See Commercial Success As SYNERGIZER

An alternative approach to the development of novel antifungal drugs is the repositioning or repurposing of existing drugs. This approach is particularly promising because usually it identifies drugs that can synergize or enhance the activity of current antifungal agents and in many cases overcome developed resistance to a certain class of antifungals. Here, we have screened four repurposing libraries and identified enhancers and synergizers of CAS activity. We concentrated our attention on one of these synergizers, BRI, that is able to synergize not only with CAS but also VOR. To our knowledge, only two CAS synergizers have been previously identified against A. fumigatus, diphenyl diselenide and clofazimine75,76, and there are no previous reports showing BRI as a potential antifungal agent and synergizer of current antifungal drugs.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37573-y

USP researchers have also shown Brilacidin to be synergistic with caspofungin in different types of fungi. Additive effects were similarly observed in Brilacidin combinations with voriconazole and geldanamycin against A. fumigatus, as well as with posaconazole against Mucorales. Separate in vitro laboratory testing evaluating Brilacidin in combination with other conventional antifungals – including caspofungin, fluconazole, posaconazole, amphotericin B and micafungin – demonstrated additive or synergistic inhibition of fungal growth.

http://www.ipharminc.com/press-release/2023/3/15/innovation-pharmaceuticals-announces-new-antifungal-testing-of-brilacidin-by-nihniaid-affiliated-and-other-academic-researchers

In cell culture, in Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus), Brilacidin converted CAS from a fungistatic into a fungicidal drug, enabling it to overcome both drug resistance and biofilm formation. Brilacidin exerted, to a lesser degree, synergistic effects with VOR in A. fumigatus. Further in vitro testing showed Brilacidin synergized with CAS in C. albicans, C. auris and C. neoformans. In an A. fumigatus immunosuppressed mouse model in invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, Brilacidin plus CAS cleared infection in the lungs by almost 95 percent, compared to ~50 percent when each compound was administered individually. Brilacidin also showed in vitro an additive inhibitory effect when combined with POSA in several species of Mucorales, the main etiological agents of mucormycosis, commonly referred to as black fungus. Mortality rates can be as high as 90 percent in this fungal disease.

http://www.ipharminc.com/press-release/2022/10/3/innovation-pharmaceuticals-announces-publication-of-scientific-article-on-the-antifungal-activity-of-brilacidin

Due to the reduced number of available antifungal agents and the increased emergence of antifungal resistance in the clinical environment, there is an urgent need for novel antifungal drugs. There are few new potential antifungal drugs at different stages of clinical development,

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37573-y