Algernon Pharmaceuticals Announces Closing of the Acquisition of its Chronic Cough Research Program by U.S. Based Seyltx for USD $2M and a 20% Equity Position

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (the “Company” or “Algernon”) (CSE: AGN) (FRANKFURT: AGW0) (OTCQB: AGNPF), a Canadian clinical stage pharmaceutical development company, is pleased to announce that it has closed on its agreement with Seyltx Inc. (“Seyltx”), a privately owned U.S. based drug development company, for the acquisition of Algernon’s NP-120 (“Ifenprodil”) research program for the purchase price of USD $2M cash and a 20% common share equity position in Seyltx. The Company previously announced on November 22, 2003 that it had signed a Letter of Intent with Seyltx, to acquire Algernon’s Ifenprodil research program.

Ifenprodil is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (“NMDA”) receptor antagonist specifically targeting the NMDA type subunit 2B (GluN2B), which prevents glutamate signaling. Ifenprodil is one of Algernon’s lead research programs and represents a novel first-in-class potential treatment for chronic cough. It is thought to interfere with central signalling in the brain, suppressing the urge to cough.

“There are multiple converging lines of evidence that define GluN2B as the master regulator of the cough reflex in the deep brain, including human clinical data with the allosteric inhibitor Ifenprodil in the hardest to treat cough population, those with underlying idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, illustrating dramatic reductions in cough counts. This human efficacy data is complemented by an extensive safety package that de-risks the final phases of clinical development,” said Dietrich A. Stephan, Ph.D. co-founder and CEO of Seyltx. “I have great respect for the Algernon team who have done an outstanding job at maturing the program to this point, and we look forward to completing the clinical development of this exciting agent for a common and debilitating condition.”

Seyltx plans to initiate an Ifenprodil multi-center Phase 2b placebo-controlled chronic cough study in CY2024. Algernon’s clinical management team will be available to provide support, oversight, and management of the study.

“We are very pleased to have closed this transaction with Seyltx,” said Christopher J. Moreau, Algernon’s Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that Ifenprodil, a first in class potential treatment for chronic cough could outperform all other drugs that have been clinically investigated to date. We look forward to working with Seyltx as they advance Ifenprodil into the Phase 2b clinical trial.”