Pneumagen Ltd Demonstrates Preclinical Proof-of-Concept for Neumifil™ in Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, Sept. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Pneumagen Ltd, focused on treating infectious disease and oncology by targeting the human glycome, today announced in vivo data on its lead product, Neumifil™, generated from its proprietary GlycoTarge platform.

Neumifil is a first-in-class mCBM40 being developed for the universal treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) including Influenza Virus (IFV) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Neumifil has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of RTIs by providing clinicians with the opportunity to offer their patients total protection against all viral strains, thus overcoming the limitations of vaccines and other therapeutic approaches.

The study results demonstrated that Neumifil significantly reduces replication of Respiratory Syncytial Virus in mice, a standard model for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in humans. Neumifil also significantly reduced key pro-inflammatory cytokines and the numbers of infiltrating immune cells. These effects were observed in all groups dosed either prophylactically or therapeutically. 

Neumifil has now demonstrated significant preclinical efficacy in RSV & IFV providing the potential for a pan-viral respiratory product.

Douglas Thomson, CEO of Pneumagen, said: "We are excited to demonstrate proof of concept for our lead product, Neumifil, in RSV. We believe that the novel mechanism of action of this product, masking the sialic acid receptors in patients and thereby preventing the entry of the virus, provides the potential for universal protection against all RTIs that is independent of the immune response or the specific virus. We believe this approach has the potential to provide an anti-RSV product where there is a high unmet need and no vaccine."

About Pneumagen

Pneumagen is using its platform technology, GlycoTarge™, to develop glycan targeted carbohydrate -binding module domains (mCBMs) derived from bacterial sialidases as a new universal therapeutic modality for the treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and cancer. These engineered mCBMs have been shown to prevent and treat respiratory infections by binding to epithelial cell surface sialic acid receptors present in the respiratory tract, used by several pathogens for entry.

Pneumagen's lead product, Neumifil™, is a first-in-class mCBM40 being developed for the universal treatment of Influenza Virus (IFV) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infections. When administered intranasally in preclinical models, Neumifil™ has demonstrated prevention, treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis of IFV and RSV infection with no observed toxicity. Pneumagen's mCBMs, in development for cancer, are known as Neumonco™. In vitro data have demonstrated that mCBMs target cancer cells, reducing cell proliferation, migration, metabolism and differentiation.

The Company is a spin-out from the University of St Andrews in Scotland and has access to world-class scientific expertise and capabilities in glycobiology. Please visit www.pneumagen.com for more information.

Contact details:

Katja Stout, Scius Communications
katja@sciuscommunications.com

Douglas Thomson, Pneumagen
douglas.thomson@pneumagen.com