Author: Michael

10th September 2019 – St Andrews, Scotland – 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

+447789435990

Douglas Thomson, Pneumagen

douglas.thomson@pneumagen.com

+447748357352

28 August – St Andrews Scotland – Pneumagen Ltd, focused on treating infectious disease and cancer by targeting the human glycome, today announced appointments to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), bringing international expertise in the areas of respiratory disease, immunology and oncology. These appointments join Professor Garry Taylor, Chairman of the SAB, and include:

Professor Paul Crocker FRSE is Professor of Glycoimmunology at the University of Dundee. His research investigates how immune cells utilize host glycans to regulate immune and inflammatory responses in human disease.  He is a co-founder of, and scientific advisor to Palleon Pharmaceuticals, which focuses on immuno-oncology.

Professor David Harrison FRCPath FRCPEd FRCSEd is the John Reid Chair of Pathology at the University of St Andrews and former Director of Laboratory Medicine for NHS Lothian. He holds visiting professorships at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. His research focuses on using cutting edge technology to understand processes in health and disease.

Sir John Skehel FRS FMedSci, a world leader in influenza research for which he has received many awards. He headed the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza and was Director of the National Institute of Medical Research in London for almost 20 years. He is currently Vice President and Biological Secretary of The Royal Society and an Emeritus professor at The Francis Crick Institute, London.

Professor Moira Whyte OBE FRCP FMedSci FRSE is the Sir John Crofton Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. She is Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Science at the University of Edinburgh, and former Director of the Medical Research Council Centre for Inflammation Research.

Douglas Thomson, Chief Executive Officer at Pneumagen, commented on the appointments, “We are very pleased to have attracted these high caliber appointments to our SAB. We are sure that the team will add valuable strategic insight as our pipeline progresses towards the clinic.”

About Pneumagen

Pneumagen is using its platform technology, GlycoTarge™, to develop glycan targeted carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) 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 infection with no observed toxicity. Pneumagen’s mCBM, in development for cancer, is known as Neumonco™. In vitro data have demonstrated that mCBMs target cancer cells, reducing cell proliferation, migration, metabolism and differentiation.

Founded in 2016, 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
+447789435990

Douglas Thomson, Pneumagen
douglas.thomson@pneumagen.com
+447748357352

Compounds that target the cellular factors essential for influenza virus replication represent an innovative approach to antiviral
therapy. Sp2CBMTD is a genetically engineered multivalent protein that masks sialic acid-containing cellular receptors on the
respiratory epithelium, which are recognized by influenza viruses. Here, we evaluated the antiviral potential of Sp2CBMTD
against lethal infection in mice with an emerging A/Anhui/1/2013 (H7N9) influenza virus and addressed the mechanistic basis of
its activity in vivo. Sp2CBMTD was administered to mice intranasally as a single or repeated dose (0.1, 1, 10, or 100 g) before
(day7,3, and/or1) or after (6 or 24 h) H7N9 virus inoculation. A single Sp2CBMTD dose (10 or 100 g) protected 80% to
100% of the mice when administered 7 days before the H7N9 lethal challenge.

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There is a need for new approaches for the control of influenza given the burden caused by annual seasonal outbreaks, the emergence of viruses with pandemic potential, and the development of resistance to current antiviral drugs. We show that multivalent biologics, engineered using carbohydrate-binding modules specific for sialic acid, mask the cell-surface receptor recognized by the influenza virus and protect mice from a lethal challenge with 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus…

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