Innovation Pharmaceuticals and U.S. Regional Biocontainment Laboratory Nearing Completion of Brilacidin Anti-SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) In Vitro Testing

• Brilacidin is showing consistent and robust antiviral activity across the viral lifecycle in human lung and Vero cells; potential as a treatment for preventing infection with COVID-19, as well as for treatment of patients once infected
• Article to be submitted for peer-review publication in September, with pre-print made available

WAKEFIELD, Mass., Aug. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovation Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB:IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, reports today receiving an update from a U.S. Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) based on ongoing in vitro testing supporting Brilacidin as a treatment for SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19.

A new experiment in a human lung epithelial cell line with the live (or wild type) virus showed that Brilacidin inhibited SARS-CoV-2 when administered post-infection. These results complement earlier RBL experiments in the same lung cell line that showed Brilacidin, when directly incubated with the live virus, exhibited potent inhibition. As Brilacidin is showing consistent and robust anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity across the viral lifecycle, the Company believes the drug could be used as a treatment for preventing infection with COVID-19, as well as for treatment of patients once infected.

At the RBL, ongoing direct inhibition experiments are being conducted with the live virus, including experiments to determine the Selectivity Index—a ratio that compares a drug’s cytotoxicity and antiviral activity—of Brilacidin in human lung cells and also in Vero cells. New in vitro neutralization experiments (with a pseudotyped virus) and binding experiments (using isolated SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein) are helping to further elucidate Brilacidin’s antiviral mechanisms against SARS-CoV-2. The richness of the growing RBL data is informing our planned Phase 2 clinical trial of Brilacidin for COVID-19. Upon completion of in vitro testing at the RBL, an academic paper is anticipated to be submitted in September for peer-review publication, with a pre-print to be made available at that time.

For researchers and institutions interested in collaborating on Brilacidin for COVID-19, please send inquiries to: [e-mail]

Brilacidin and COVID-19

Brilacidin is one of the few drugs targeting COVID-19 that has been tested in human trials (a total of 8) for other clinical indications, providing an established safety and efficacy database on over 460 subjects, thereby potentially enabling it to rapidly help address the novel coronavirus crisis. Ongoing laboratory testing conducted at a U.S. Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL), and at a Public Health Research Institute (PHRI), supports Brilacidin’s antiviral ability to safely inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in both human and animal cell lines. A molecular screening study of 11,552 compounds also supports Brilacidin as a promising novel coronavirus treatment. Additional pre-clinical and clinical data support Brilacidin’s potential to inhibit IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α and other pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which have been identified as central drivers in the worsening prognoses of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Brilacidin’s robust 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 unique 3 in 1 combination—antiviral, immuno/anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial—anti-COVID-19 therapeutic candidate.