Innovation Pharmaceuticals Announces New Antifungal Testing of Brilacidin by NIH/NIAID-Affiliated and Other Academic Researchers

WAKEFIELD, MA, March 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via – Innovation Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB:IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that based on positive findings new testing of Brilacidin in additional in vitro and in vivo models against hard-to-treat fungal pathogens is planned by NIH/NIAID-affiliated and other academic researchers. Brilacidin is the Company’s defensin mimetic drug candidate exhibiting antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties.

Extensive in vitro testing of Brilacidin by these research groups against multiple pathogenic human fungi has been completed. Across all pre-clinical studies conducted to date, Brilacidin has now exhibited varying degrees of inhibition against 13 of 19 “priority” fungal pathogens by the World Health Organization in need of novel treatments.

Summary of Research Results

Comparable to findings observed in testing by scientists at the University of Sao Paulo (USP), Brazil, Brilacidin showed potent stand-alone inhibition in multiple isolates of C. neoformans, for which few effective treatments exist. C. neoformans causes approximately 220,000 cases of cryptococcal meningitis worldwide each year and is associated with an 80 percent mortality rate. Brilacidin showed promising stand-alone inhibition as well in multiple isolates of Mucorales, Fusarium sp., C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. guillermondii, Lomentospora prolificans, Scedosporium apiospermum, Blastomyces dermatitidis and Histoplasma capsulatum.

USP researchers have also shown Brilacidin to be synergistic with caspofungin in different types of fungi. Additive effects were similarly observed in Brilacidin combinations with voriconazole and geldanamycin against A. fumigatus, as well as with posaconazole against Mucorales. Separate in vitro laboratory testing evaluating Brilacidin in combination with other conventional antifungals – including caspofungin, fluconazole, posaconazole, amphotericin B and micafungin – demonstrated additive or synergistic inhibition of fungal growth.

Beyond Brilacidin’s broad-spectrum ability to directly inhibit fungal pathogens, Brilacidin may favorably modulate the host response to fungal infections.

Scientific Poster Presentations

In related news, Brilacidin antifungal data was accepted for a scientific poster presentation at the 16th Annual European Conference on Fungal Genetics (ECFG16), held in Innsbruck, Austria, March 5-8, 2023, based on research conducted at USP and other academic institutions. ECFG16 is the largest European conference focusing on fungal genetics and biology.

Additional antifungal research on Brilacidin’s potential to treat fungal keratitis was presented at the 2023 Gordon Research Conference on the Immunology of Fungal Infections (GRCIFI), held January 22-27, 2023, in Galveston Texas. The conference focused on advances in the mechanistic understanding of the immune response against clinically relevant fungal pathogens.

Corresponding posters for these conferences are available on the Events and Presentations section of the Company’s website at the link below.

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About Innovation Pharmaceuticals

Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IPIX) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of innovative therapies addressing multiple areas of unmet medical need, including inflammatory diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases. The Company is also active in evaluating other potential investment opportunities that can add value and diversify its portfolio.

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, without limitation, statements concerning future product development plans, including with respect to specific indications; statements regarding the therapeutic potential and capabilities of the StingRay System; future regulatory developments; and any other statements which are other than statements of historical fact. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause 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 risks related to conducting pre-clinical studies and clinical trials and seeking regulatory and licensing approvals in the United States and other jurisdictions, including without limitation that compounds and devices 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; prior test results may not be replicated in future studies and trials; 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; and the Company’s licensee(s) may not successfully complete pre-clinical or clinical testing and the Company will not receive milestone payments. A more complete description of these and other risk factors is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions are beyond the Company’s ability to control or predict. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the information currently available to the Company on the date they are made, and 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.

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