Innovation Pharmaceuticals – Clinical Trial Testing of Brilacidin Against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Targeted to Commence Q4 2020

WAKEFIELD, Mass., July 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovation Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB:IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, today provides perspectives on the planned clinical trial testing of Brilacidin, administered intravenously (IV), for the treatment of COVID-19. The exigencies of the pandemic coupled with Brilacidin’s multiple therapeutic properties – its anti-viral SARS-CoV-2 activity, its anti-inflammatory potential to abate the COVID-19 associated cytokine storm, as well as its proven anti-bacterial properties – have the Company working vigilantly to advance Brilacidin into human trials against COVID-19 during fourth-quarter 2020.

As previously released, manufacturing steps are now underway to prepare Brilacidin for COVID-19 clinical trial use, including the sourcing of materials and making of sterile IV drug product. In parallel to these manufacturing efforts, the Company has drafted a study protocol toward initiating a planned Phase 2 trial of Brilacidin for COVID-19. This proposed study has two active treatment arms evaluating different IV dosing regimens in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The ongoing in vitro testing at independent laboratories of Brilacidin against SARS-CoV-2, in which Brilacidin has shown consistently robust results in human and animal cell lines, is helping to inform trial design.

Given the continuing coronavirus pandemic, and especially in light of surging cases in the United States, the Company is looking to start a clinical trial with Brilacidin for COVID-19 treatment in Q4 2020. This forecast assumes manufacturing is completed, per the manufacturer’s timeline, and a successful Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the Food and Drug Administration.

“The spread of COVID-19 only seems to be getting worse, a truly worrisome trend, with reports of possible reinfection occurring more frequently,” noted Leo Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer of Innovation Pharmaceuticals. “We continue to work diligently, engaged now in preclinical testing activities, as the world so desperately needs a solution for this pandemic. Getting Brilacidin into the clinic to help treat COVID-19 patients continues to be a primary focus of the Company and our hope is that Brilacidin will be an integral part of the solution.”

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-1?, TNF-? 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.

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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.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including statements concerning our future drug development plans, statements regarding the antiviral capabilities and therapeutic potential of Brilacidin and its impact on SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and other coronaviruses; other statements regarding future product developments, and markets, including with respect to specific indications, and any other statements which are other than statements of historical fact. These statements involve risks but not limited to risks related to conducting pre-clinical studies and clinical trials and seeking IND regulatory approval for Brilacidin; that prior test results may not be replicated in future studies and trials, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause the Company’s actual results and experience to differ materially from anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements. The Company has in some cases identified forward-looking statements by using words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “hopes,” “estimates,” “looks,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “goal,” “potential,” “may,” “suggest,” and similar expressions. Among other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements are the Company’s need for, and the availability of, substantial capital in the future to fund its operations and research and development; including the amount and timing of the sale of shares of common stock under securities purchase agreements; the fact that the Company’s licensee(s) may not successfully complete pre-clinical or clinical testing and the Company will not receive milestone payments, or the fact that the Company’s compounds may not successfully complete pre-clinical or clinical testing, or be granted regulatory approval to be sold and marketed in the United States or elsewhere. A more complete description of these risk factors is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to any such forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by applicable law or regulation.

INVESTOR AND MEDIA CONTACT
Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Leo Ehrlich
info@ipharminc.com