WAKEFIELD, MA ? May 5, 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.

For researchers and institutions interested in collaborating on Brilacidin for COVID-19, please send inquiries to: covid19@ipharminc.com

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