NIAID awards Pulmatrix $2.2M grant for developing novel influenza therapeutics

PulmatrixNov 2 2009

Pulmatrix, a clinical stage biotechnology company discovering and developing a new class of therapies for the treatment and prevention of infectious and progressive respiratory diseases, today announced that it has been awarded a grant for $2.2 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), aimed at advancing the development of novel influenza therapeutics for the treatment of seasonal and pandemic influenza.

Pulmatrix’s proprietary technology for treating influenza was identified as one of the most promising new approaches to support NIAID’s Strategic Plan for Biodefense Research, which emphasizes the development of broad spectrum therapeutics to address high priority infectious agents. The award will support ongoing preclinical studies to extend the spectrum and efficacy of PUR003, a Pulmatrix drug compound, and advance next generation formulations to IND-enabling toxicology studies. Pulmatrix is currently evaluating PUR003 in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1b/2a clinical trial designed to demonstrate its effectiveness, safety and tolerability in an experimental influenza infection model in healthy volunteers. Results from this clinical trial are expected by the end of the year.

In preclinical studies, Pulmatrix therapies have demonstrated significant efficacy in the treatment and prophylaxis of influenza across multiple strains and in multiple animal species, including improvement of clinical signs and lung pathology following infection with a seasonal H1N1 strain in swine.

“This award validates that our novel inhaled therapies– which have the unique ability to treat and prevent a broad range of infections from different airborne viruses, bacteria or ‘bugs’ – represent a promising approach to address respiratory diseases in a fundamentally new way. Pulmatrix’s technology is attractive because of its unique ability to enhance the airway and lungs own natural biophysical properties and host defense mechanisms, in a pathogen-independent manner. Thus, single product formulations may have the ability to address multiple infectious agents, including different strains of influenza as well as a wide range of other respiratory diseases,” said Robert Connelly, Chief Executive Officer of Pulmatrix. “Pulmatrix has made significant progress with our product pipeline, including ongoing and planned clinical trials in influenza and other respiratory diseases.”