Pharmaceutical Business review

ENA Respiratory partners with COPD Foundation for antiviral nasal spray

The broad spectrum antiviral immunomodulatory nasal spray is intended for chronic lung diseases. Credit: Thorsten Frenzel from Pixabay.

INNA-051 is a broad spectrum antiviral immunomodulatory nasal spray, which is under clinical development to treat pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis of respiratory viral infections in people at risk of severe complications.

It is being developed for stimulating innate immunity and reducing incidence as well as the severity of respiratory viral infections like Covid-19, rhinovirus, or influenza.

The pan-antiviral nasal spray was found to be well-tolerated in a Phase I trial.

Phase II trials are slated to commence shortly and will confirm INNA-51’s pan-antiviral potential.

ENA Respiratory co-founder and CEO Christophe Demaison said: “People with chronic lung diseases continue to be impacted not just by the Covid-19 pandemic but by the resurgence of other common respiratory viruses.

“There continues to be a need for convenient treatments that can be used over the winter months or after known short-term exposure to a respiratory virus, to reduce the incidence of acute exacerbations of patients with chronic lung diseases.”

The collaboration adds its pan-antiviral nasal spray to the COPD360Net pipeline of COPD Foundation.

Additionally, the partnership will use COPD Foundation’s network of patient investigators, accredited centres, and scientific expertise for accelerating and optimising the clinical development programme.

COPD Foundation president and chief scientific officer Ruth Tal-Singer said: “This fast-acting nasal spray could be used before or shortly after virus exposure to help the body respond faster and reduce the chances of complications.”

The shared commitment of ENA Respiratory and COPD Foundation for the development of patient-centred drug along with the foundation’s expertise will allow the clinical programme of INNA-051 to progress with maximum efficiency.