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- New Nasal Spray Preventive Treatment Announced That Could Protect People From COVID-19 Infection And Prevent Transmission
- A new therapy developed by Australian biotech company Ena Respiratory was shown to significantly reduce levels of the COVID-19 virus in the nose and throat, in a reference animal study
- COVID-19 replication reduction by up to 96%, study conducted by scientists at Public Health England (PHE)
- Mode of action complementary to COVID-19 vaccines, easily administered nasal, once or twice a week
- Potential to be used to prevent infection in at-risk populations, including healthcare workers and the elderly
- Ready to advance to human clinical trials in four months
- The company has raised AU $ 11.7 million and is seeking additional investments
Melbourne, Australia, September 28, 2020 / PRNewswire / – A novel nasal treatment developed to boost the natural human immune system to fight common colds and flu, has proven highly successful in reducing COVID-19 viral replication test results, revealed today.
The new product, INNA-051, which is being developed by Australian biotech company Ena Respiratory, reduced viral replication by up to 96 percent in a landmark animal study led by the Deputy Director of Public Health England (PHE) , Teacher Miles Carroll and published today on the pre-publication biomedical research site, medRxiv.
The INNA-051 compound works by stimulating the innate immune system, the first line of defense against the invasion of pathogens into the body. By boosting the immune response in this way with INNA-051 prior to infection, the ability of the COVID-19 virus to infect animals and replicate was dramatically reduced, the PHE study showed. The study provides evidence that INNA-051 can be used as an independent method of antiviral preventive therapy, complementary to vaccine programs.
“We have been amazed at how effective our treatment has been,” says Ena Respiratory’s Managing Director, Dr. Christophe demaison. “By boosting the ferrets’ natural immune response with our treatment, we have seen rapid eradication of the virus.”
“If humans respond similarly, the benefits of treatment are twofold. People exposed to the virus will likely clear it quickly, and treatment will ensure that the disease does not progress beyond mild symptoms. This is particularly relevant for members of the Furthermore, the rapidity of this response means that it is unlikely that infected people will transmit it, which means a rapid interruption of community transmission. “
Ena Respiratory has raised AU $ 11.7 million from Australian investors and, subject to successful toxicity studies and regulatory approval, the company could be ready to test INNA-051 in human trials in less than four months.
Investment and support in the development of the new therapy has been led by the Australian Medical Research Commercialization Fund (MRCF), From Australia The largest life science investment fund managed by Brandon Capital, jointly invested by the Uniseed college marketing fund. The company is urgently seeking additional funding to accelerate the clinical development and global distribution of the nasal spray.
Dr Chris Nave, CEO of MRCF and co-founder of Brandon Capital, says that these extremely promising results mean that INNA-051 is an exciting pioneer in the battle to defeat COVID-19. “We are doing everything we can to support Ena Respiratory and its quest to secure additional investment to accelerate the development and testing of the therapy in humans. While a vaccine is ultimately the key solution to combat COVID- 19, governments must develop different treatment approaches to ensure they have a variety of options, should a vaccine prove elusive or take longer to develop. “
INNA-051 is a synthetic small molecule and is self-administered by an easy-to-use nasal spray, taken once or twice a week, and the treatment takes almost immediate effect. If human trials are successful, and given the unprecedented need for drugs to fight COVID-19, this prophylactic immunomodulation therapy could be rapidly scaled up and available for use soon.
“This is a significant advance as the world races to find a solution to stop the transmission and infection of COVID-19 in at-risk populations,” says the professor. Roberto Solari respiratory specialist, Ena Respiratory advisor and visiting professor at Imperial College London. “What is most exciting is INNA-051’s ability to significantly reduce virus levels in the nose and throat, giving hope that this therapy could reduce the transmission of COVID-19 by infected people, especially those who can be presymptomatic or asymptomatic and, therefore, do not know that they are infectious “, says Professor Solari.
INNA-051 offers real hope to those on the front lines of fighting COVID-19, says Dr. Chris smith, Ena Respiratory Board Director and Senior Investment Manager at Brandon Capital. “Treatment offers significant potential to protect the most vulnerable, including those with pre-existing respiratory conditions and the elderly, where vaccines may be less effective.”
INNA-051 was in development prior to the COVID-19 outbreak to promote resistance to broader respiratory viral epidemics. Unlike vaccines that target a specific strain, INNA-051 is designed to be effective for all types of respiratory infections.
“Our nasal treatment has amazing potential to combat COVID-19 and future pandemics,” continues Dr. Smith. We know that vaccines are often the most attractive approach to combat respiratory virus epidemics, but this approach often presents challenges as vaccines trigger a specific response in the adaptive immune system that may not be effective against future mutations of a virus. . INNA-051 uses non-specific innate immune response, which means that it is effective against a broad spectrum of viruses. ”
“As an original investor along with Uniseed, the MRCF saw great potential in INNA-051, before the COVID-19 era, to manage respiratory viral outbreaks, exactly as we are currently experiencing it, although our initial focus was against influenza.” continues Dr. Nave. . “We are now delighted to be able to reorient the effort towards the fight against COVID-19. Treatment has significant potential, not only against this pandemic, but also to play a key role in future viral respiratory outbreaks.”
Study authors include scientists from Public Health England (PHE), Ena Respiratory and leading Australian research organizations, the Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle and the Melbourne University.
Uniseed CEO Dr. Peter devine He added: “These are very interesting results and demonstrate the potential clinical utility of the drug Ena in treating COVID-19, which will likely require multiple treatment approaches. It also underscores the value of facilitating commercialization at an early stage of research, which it can go to create a global impact. “
About Ena Respiratory
Ena Respiratory is a 100% subsidiary of Ena Therapeutics, whose objective is to transform the treatment and prevention of respiratory infections in populations at risk.
Ena Respiratory is developing novel synthetic innate immunomodulators for the prevention of viral and bacterial respiratory infections. The company is based in Melbourne Y Sydney, australia. Ena Therapeutics has secured a Series A investment from the Medical Research Marketing Fund (MRCF) managed by Brandon Capital and Uniseed.
https://enarespiratory.com
About INNA-051
Ena Respiratory’s lead candidate, INNA-051, is a pegylated synthetic TLR2 / 6 agonist. INNA-051 is developed for topical administration to the airways (via nasal spray once or twice weekly) for the purpose of to attack the primary site of most respiratory virus infections, including COVID-19, influenza, and rhinovirus. Topical respiratory administration of Ena Respiratory’s pegylated TLR2 / 6 agonists results in the activation of several key innate immune defense mechanisms involved in antiviral prophylaxis. INNA-051 is based on the discoveries made by Professor David Jackson and his team. Professor Jackson directs the laboratory of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infections and Immunity. Melbourne University.
The broad antiviral efficacy of Ena Respiratory’s TLR2 / 6 pegylated agonists has been demonstrated in preclinical animal models of respiratory viruses, including models of influenza and rhinovirus (common cold) and secondary bacterial infection.
The efficacy of INNA-051 against COVID-19 has been confirmed in a ferret challenge model by the team led by the professor Miles Carroll in Public Health of England. In this study, INNA-051 was administered as prophylaxis. At the optimal dose regimen, after 5 days after COVID-19 exposure, INNA-051 treated animals had a statistically significant reduction in virus in throat swabs (96% reduction) and nasal washes (reduction 93%) compared to untreated animals, despite very high levels of virus exposure (around 5 million virus particles were administered in these studies).
About the Medical Research Marketing Fund (MRCF) and Brandon Capital Partners
Brandon Capital Partners is a venture capital firm that manages the Medical Research Marketing Fund (MRCF), Australia Y New Zealand largest investment fund in life sciences. The MRCF is a unique collaboration between leading Australian retirement funds, the Australian and New Zealand Australian governments, state governments and more than 50 leading medical research institutes and research hospitals. The MRCF supports the development and commercialization of early-stage biomedical discoveries originating from member research organizations, providing capital and expertise to guide the successful development of new therapies. The MRCF has supported more than 45 startups to date, most of which were founded by the MRCF.
For more information on the MRCF, visit: https://www.mrcf.com.au/
For more information on Brandon Capital Partners, visit: www.brandoncapital.com.au
About Uniseed
Uniseed is From Australia the longest running early stage marketing fund investing in research from five of From Australia leading research organizations – The University of Queensland, The University of Sydney, The University of New South Wales, The Melbourne University and the CSIRO. Uniseed is a mutual fund, owned by research organizations, for research organizations. The fund facilitates the commercialization of the most promising intellectual property of its research partners and ensures targeted investments in the resulting products and technologies. Uniseed has supported 57 start-ups to date, being the seed investor in most of them.
For more information, visit: www.uniseed.com
SOURCE Ena Respiratory
related links
https://enarespiratory.com
