The BBC’s Scottish News Programme The Nine interviewed Professor Garry Taylor about Pneumagen’s recent announcement of antiviral effects of their Novel Glycan Approach in targeting COVID-19 Infections.
Category: Press Release
Novel Carbohydrate Binding Modules (mCBMs) block entry into airway cells for a range of viruses causing respiratory tract infections. Results show Pneumagen’s mCBMs demonstrate activity against coronaviruses.
28th April 2020 – St Andrews, Scotland – Pneumagen Ltd, a University of St Andrews spinout, focused on treating infectious disease and oncology by targeting the human glycome, today announced results from three separate in vitro studies into preventing coronavirus infections including SARS-CoV-2 infection the cause of COVID-19 using Neumifil™ and other first-in-class multivalent Carbohydrate Binding Modules (mCBMs), generated using its proprietary GlycoTarge™ platform.
Working closely with Public Health England’s Porton facility, and separately the University of Glasgow’s MRC Centre for Virus Research, Pneumagen has tested the activity of its mCBMs against coronaviruses, using plaque reduction assays. At Porton and the University of Glasgow, Pneumagen’s mCBMs were found to reduce the number of SARS-CoV-2 plaques in these assays when the mCBMs were used in both prevention and treatment of infection. This builds on the company’s own work, with a different clinically relevant coronavirus that can cause the common cold where a plaque reduction assay also demonstrated antiviral activity for mCBMs.
Pneumagen’s lead mCBM, Neumifil™, is already being developed for the universal treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) including Influenza Virus (IFV) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and now coronaviruses. Neumifil’s novel mechanism of action, masking glycan receptors in patients’ airways thereby preventing the entry of the virus, has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of RTIs by providing clinicians with the opportunity to offer patients total protection against any circulating viral strain.
Douglas Thomson, CEO of Pneumagen, said: “Today’s positive results from in vitro studies of our mCBMs against coronaviruses show that glycan binding has the potential to prevent and treat infection. This further supports the value of our universal therapeutic modality to block access to lung cells of SARS-CoV-2, as well as other viruses, that causes respiratory tract infections, providing the potential for a pan-viral respiratory product. Our goal is now to rapidly begin clinical testing for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.”
About Pneumagen
Pneumagen is using its platform technology, GlycoTarge, to develop glycan targeted carbohydrate-binding module domains (mCBMs) derived from bacterial glycosidases as a new universal therapeutic modality for the prevention and treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTIs). These engineered mCBMs have been shown to prevent and treat respiratory infections by binding to epithelial cell surface glycan 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), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and coronavirus COVID-19 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
17th March 2020 – St Andrews, Scotland – Pneumagen Ltd, focused on treating infectious disease and oncology by targeting the human glycome, today announced it has initiated a new programme to prevent and treat coronavirus COVID-19 infections using its first-in-class Carbohydrate Binding Modules (mCBMs), generated using its proprietary GlycoTarge™ platform.
Pneumagen’s lead mCBM, Neumifil™, is already being developed for the universal treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) including Influenza Virus (IFV) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and now coronaviruses including COVID-19. Neumifil’s novel mechanism of action, masking glycan receptors in patients’ airways and thereby preventing the entry of the virus, has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of RTIs by providing clinicians with the opportunity to offer patients total protection against all viral strains, thus overcoming current vaccine limitations caused by viruses mutating and allowing the treatment to be stockpiled in advance for pandemic use.
Pneumagen has already demonstrated significant preclinical efficacy in several other RTIs caused by viruses, including RSV & IFV, providing the potential for a pan-viral respiratory product. The new programme now seeks to extend this efficacy to coronavirus COVID-19.
Douglas Thomson, CEO of Pneumagen, said: “We’re committed to support the global effort to treat the coronavirus pandemic and believe our universal therapeutic modality has the potential to block access to lung cells of the COVID-19 virus that causes respiratory tract infections. This builds on proven pre-clinical efficacy we’ve shown against flu, RSV, parainfluenza, and other viruses. Importantly, this non-vaccine approach should work well in the elderly and immune-compromised, who are the most at risk, and provide immediate protection against infection. With new funding, we would be able to move rapidly into clinical studies. We already have a manufacturing process in place and material for further testing.”
Sir John Skehel FRS FMedSci, a world leader in influenza research, and Pneumagen SAB member, said, “Pneumagen’s GlycoTarge platform provides a novel way of blocking virus transmission and could be an additional line of defence against COVID-19: if the virus is prevented from getting into lung cells its ability to cause disease is reduced.”
About Pneumagen
Pneumagen is using its platform technology, GlycoTarge, to develop glycan targeted carbohydrate-binding module domains (mCBMs) derived from bacterial glycosidases as a new universal therapeutic modality for the prevention and treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTIs). These engineered mCBMs have been shown to prevent and treat respiratory infections by binding to epithelial cell surface glycan 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), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and coronavirus COVID-19 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
12 November 2019 – St Andrews, Scotland – Pneumagen Ltd, focused on treating infectious disease and oncology by targeting the human glycome, today presented a poster at the RSVVW 2019 meeting in Accra, Ghana, hosted by the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Network (ReSViNET) Foundation.
The poster describes how sialic acids decorate the surfaces of most animal cells and are the receptor for the binding of many microbial pathogens, including the influenza virus. A host-targeted approach to the prevention or treatment of disease caused by sialic acid-targeting pathogens works by masking the receptor to prevent cell binding, entry and replication. Pneumagen has developed multivalent sialic acid-binding proteins which bind sialic acid with sub-nanomolar affinity, and which we have shown to protect mice from lethal doses of a range of influenza viruses, including H1N1, H7N9 and H5N1 (Connaris et al., 2014 PNAS 111, 6401-6406; Govorkova et al., 2015 AAC 59, 1495-1504).
Pneumagen recently investigated the potential of Neumifil as a preventative or treatment for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. The Company showed that Neumifil, when given prophylactically or as a treatment, leads to a significant reduction in lung virus titre in mice infected with hRSV-A2. The ability of Neumifil to reduce infection by two of the leading causes of respiratory disease, suggests its potential as a pan-viral biologic for the prevention and treatment of infection by a range of respiratory pathogens.
To view the full poster please click here to download.
About Pneumagen
Pneumagen is using its platform technology, GlycoTargeTM, 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, NeumifilTM, 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, NeumifilTM has demonstrated prevention, treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis of IFV and RSV infection with no observed toxicity.
Contact details:
Katja Stout, Scius Communications
katja@sciuscommunications.com
+447789435990
Douglas Thomson, Pneumagen
douglas.thomson@pneumagen.com
+447748357352
15 October 2019 – St Andrews, Scotland – Pneumagen Ltd, focused on treating infectious disease and oncology by targeting the human glycome, today announced promising in vivo data in oncology from a novel Carbohydrate Binding Module (mCBM) generated from its proprietary GlycoTarge™ platform.
The study results demonstrate that Pneumagen’s oncology targeted mCBMs, known as Neumonco™, significantly inhibits tumour growth in an orthotopic mouse xenograft model of human ovarian cancer. In this study Neumonco was administered intraperitoneally into mice for the first time and tumour growth was measured using bioluminescence imaging. Results demonstrated tolerability and efficacy, yielding a statistically significant inhibition in tumour mass compared to the control group. In vitro data has previously demonstrated that mCBMs target cancer cells directly, reducing cancer cell proliferation, migration, and altering metabolism.
Pneumagen’s platform technology, GlycoTarge, has generated a portfolio of engineered oligomers of monomeric carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs), derived from carbohydrate-active enzymes. These CBMs are genetically linked in tandem, with a trimerisation domain, resulting in multivalent proteins (mCBMs) with greatly increased binding affinities for their respective glycan targets. Pneumagen is utilising this technology for a universal treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) but has now shown this platform has direct utility in the emerging and exciting area of novel glycan-targeted cancer therapeutics.
Douglas Thomson, CEO of Pneumagen, said: “We are very excited by these results from our first in vivo oncology study demonstrating the efficacy of our platform. We now intend to progress our lead Neumonco candidate to the next stage of development as well as extending further the GlycoTarge platform in cancer.”
Pneumagens’ oncology research has been funded in part by a SMART:SCOTLAND grant from Scottish Enterprise. SMART:SCOTLAND awards aim to support ambitious R&D projects by SMEs based in Scotland.
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
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…
To read full publication please click here to download