TMCnet News
Innovation Pharmaceuticals Completes Gastric Fluid Testing of Brilacidin Supporting Development of an Oral Dosage Form to Treat Inflammatory Bowel DiseaseBEVERLY, Mass., Jan. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovation Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB:IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, is pleased to inform shareholders the Company has completed early testing evaluating the stability of Brilacidin, its novel defensin-mimetic drug candidate, in simulated gastric fluid—a synthetic form of the fluid found in the stomach. Results showed very minimal degradation of Brilacidin across 4 hours, suggesting that a simple formulation of Brilacidin likely would not be subject to rapid breakdown once in the stomach. This finding should enable initial clinical testing with a simple formulation of the drug candidate delivered to the gut while a more elegant, tailored oral dosage form of Brilacidin is developed and refined, in parallel. The end goal would be to release Brilacidin selectively in the GI tract via targeted delivery technology. “These gastric testing results are an important initial step in determining Brilacidin’s likely stability profile with simple oral delivery to the gut,” commented Francis A. Farraye, MD, MSc, Clinical Director, Section of Gastroenterology at Boston Medical Center, Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and Scientific Advisor to Innovation Pharmaceuticals. “We were pleased to see that Brilacidin maintains ample integrity in simulated gastric fluid long enough to suggest it would allow for intact passage from the stomach into the gut where clinical disease manifests with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). One of the key advantages of Brilacidin, as a synthetic defensin mimetic, is the robustness of its design, which should help it to withstand potential degradation in the stomach. I very much look forward to working with Innovation as we aim to advance oral Brilacidin further into clinical development for the treatment of IBD.” Planned next steps in the development of Brilacidin for oral delivery include clinical testing of Brilacidin in healthy volunteers to assess safety and toleration, the pharmacokinetic profile and effects on the gut’s microbiome. Clinical trials in IBD including Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease, would then follow. “This is a significant development for shareholders,” commented Leo Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer at Innovation Pharmaceuticals. “A safe and effective oral formulation of Brilacidin would represent a substantial market opportunity given the high prevalence of the disease and need for novel IBD treatments. As the Company works on Phase 3 development of Brilacidin for Oral Mucositis, it is concurrently a high priority to keep making progress on the oral version of Brilacidin for IBD.” About Brilacidin for IBD Alerts About Innovation Pharmaceuticals 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 projected timelines for the initiation and completion of clinical trials, including planned Phase 3 trials of Brilacidin, our future drug development plans, 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, 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 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 |