Company News

The leading Australian CRO for biotechs and Frost & Sullivan 2020 Asia-Pacific CRO Market Leadership Award winner Avance Clinical is pleased to share the news that their client Atossa Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ATOS) has announced completion of enrollment in its Phase 1 clinical study using Atossa’s proprietary drug candidate AT-301 administered by nasal spray for the treatment of COVID-19. AT-301 is being developed for at home use enabling management of the infection symptoms with at home quarantine and potentially preventing disease progression.

Avance Clinical Chief Scientific Officer Gabriel Kremmidiotis PhD, BSC Hon said:

“With a number of countries around the globe currently experiencing secondary waves of COVID-19 infection spread, the need for vaccines and therapies is significant and the ability to deliver fast start-up and execution of clinical trials to expedite development of such products, like AT-301, is essential. Avance was able to deliver start-up and execution of the AT-301 trial in record time. We have a very experienced team who worked effectively with Australian Human Research Ethics and a dedicated Phase I unit based here in South Australia in delivering this great result for Atossa.”

According to Atossa Therapeutics:

Atossa Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need with a current focus on breast cancer and COVID-19, announced it has now completed enrollment in its Phase 1 clinical study using Atossa’s proprietary drug candidate AT-301 administered by nasal spray.

“Completing enrollment is a significant milestone and comes at a time when we are seeing a new wave if infections in certain geographies and an increased focus on developing therapies to treat COVID-19,” commented Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Atossa’s President and CEO. “While the virus presents significant danger overall, the vast majority of people testing positive for COVID-19 do not require hospitalization and instead quarantine at home while they manage their symptoms and attempt not to infect those around them. As there are no currently FDA-approved treatments to help these patients, we are developing AT-301 for at home use so that they can recover faster.”

Atossa plans to identify potential partners who are developing COVID-19 diagnostic tests so that AT-301 nasal spray may be co-developed and commercialized with the goal of making the AT-301 therapy available at the time a person tests positive for the coronavirus. Atossa also plans to develop its nasal spray to potentially help prevent COVID-19 infection — particularly for people in high risk environments — including, for example, people living with a patient infected with COVID-19, healthcare workers, emergency responders and teachers. In addition to seeking a partner, Atossa’s next steps with this program include contracting for a commercial supply of the nasal spray devices; reporting preliminary top line results from the Phase 1 study; and completing regulatory filings and any necessary approvals to launch a Phase 2 study, which it is planning for the first half of 2021.

The ongoing Phase 1 study is a double-blinded, randomized, and placebo-controlled safety study of AT-301 nasal spray in 32 healthy adult subjects divided into two study groups. Part A consists of two single-dose cohorts receiving either active therapy, AT-301B, or the placebo comparator AT-301A at two different doses. Part B is a multiple dose arm with cohorts receiving either AT-301A or AT-301B for 14 days at two different doses. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of single and multiple doses of AT-301 administered via nasal instillation to healthy volunteers. Secondary objectives are to assess the incidence and severity of local irritation and bronchospasm following administration of AT-301 via nasal instillation. The study is being conducted in Australia.

ABOUT ATOSSA THERAPEUTICS

Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need with a current focus on breast cancer and COVID-19. For more information, please visit www.atossatherapeutics.com.

See full announcement here.

The leading Australian CRO for biotechs and Frost & Sullivan 2020 Asia-Pacific CRO Market Leadership Award winner Avance Clinical is pleased to share the news that its client Immunic Therapeutics has announced dosing of the first healthy volunteer in the company’s phase 1 clinical program of IMU-856, an novel treatment for patients suffering from gastrointestinal diseases, including diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Immunic Therapeutics (Nasdaq: IMUX) isa clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing selective oral immunology therapies aimed at treating chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

According to the public announcement released by Immunic Therapeutics on 20 August 2020:

• IMU-856, an orally available, small molecule modulator, serves as a transcriptional regulator of intestinal barrier function. Based on preclinical data, the compound appears to represent a novel and potentially paradigm-shifting approach to the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases by potentially restoring intestinal barrier function while maintaining immunocompetency.

• Immunic’s Australian subsidiary, Immunic Australia Pty Ltd., received approval from the Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committee in Australia to conduct a phase 1 clinical trial of IMU-856 under the Clinical Trial Notification (CTN) scheme of the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). The phase 1 clinical program includes single and multiple ascending dose parts in healthy volunteers. Subsequently, Immunic also plans to extend this program to assess biomarker, safety and drug trough levels in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Hella Kohlhof, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Immunic, noted, “Current treatments for many gastrointestinal conditions focus on inhibiting inflammation and do not directly address impaired intestinal barrier function. In contrast, IMU-856 appears to have a unique targeted ability to strengthen and thereby normalize this function, potentially avoiding the bacterial triggers which can occur when the intestinal barrier is impaired. Moreover, because this approach appears to avoid any detrimental effects on the immune system, we believe that IMU-856 has the potential to change the treatment paradigm for gastrointestinal diseases.”

Avance Clinical Chief Scientific Officer Gabriel Kremmidiotis PhD, BSC Hon said “We consider ourselves fortunate to be working with Immunic on this exciting project. IMU-856 is the second compound that Immunic has selected Avance Clinical as their CRO. Our engagement in these projects has been from early planning, study design, preparation of the investigator brochures and clinical trial protocols. Working with the Immunic team and the Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committee, we have been able to design clinical trials which include careful data informed adaptive elements aimed at expediting the transition of these promising products from healthy volunteers to the patient populations.”

See full announcement here: https://www.immunic-therapeutics.com/2020/08/20/immunic-inc-announces-dosing-of-first-healthy-volunteer-in-phase-1-clinical-program-of-imu-856-targeting-restoration-of-intestinal-barrier-function/

About Immunic, Inc.
Immunic, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMUX) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a pipeline of selective oral immunology therapies aimed at treating chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, including relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and psoriasis. Immunic is developing three small molecule products: its lead development program, IMU-838, is a selective immune modulator that inhibits the intracellular metabolism of activated immune cells by blocking the enzyme DHODH and exhibits a host-based antiviral effect; IMU-935 is an inverse agonist of RORγt; and IMU-856 targets the restoration of the intestinal barrier function. On August 2, 2020, Immunic announced positive top-line results from its phase 2 EMPhASIS trial of IMU-838 in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, reporting achievement of both primary and key secondary endpoints with high statistical significance, indicating activity for IMU-838 in this indication. IMU-838 is also in phase 2 clinical development for ulcerative colitis and COVID-19, with an additional phase 2 trial considered in Crohn’s disease. An investigator-sponsored proof-of-concept clinical trial for IMU-838 in primary sclerosing cholangitis is ongoing at the Mayo Clinic. For further information, please visit: www.imux.com.

The leading Australian CRO for biotechs and Frost & Sullivan 2020 Asia-Pacific CRO Market Leadership Award winner Avance Clinical is pleased to share the news that Atossa Therapeutics have enrolled and dosed the first cohort of healthy participants at CMAX Clinical Research in the Phase 1 clinical study using its proprietary drug candidate AT-301, being administered by nasal spray.

According to Atossa Therapeutics:

Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need with a current focus on breast cancer and COVID-19, today announced that it has enrolled and dosed the first cohort of healthy participants in the Phase 1 clinical study using its proprietary drug candidate AT-301, being administered by nasal spray. This group of 8 participants received a single dose of either AT-301A (placebo) or AT-301B (active).

“Advancing our COVID-19 drug candidates through clinical studies as quickly as possible is our highest priority,” commented Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Atossa’s President and CEO.

“We are very encouraged by the high level of interest in this study and the speed at which we enrolled this first group of participants. Our novel nasal spray drug candidate is being developed to provide a unique protective mucosal barrier with anti-viral properties within the nasal cavity, hopefully leading to lower infectivity and reduced symptoms in COVID-19 patients. If this can slow virus proliferation sufficiently to allow the patient to mount a strong, natural immune response AT-301 could significantly impact the current public health options for controlling COVID-19. We look forward to quickly completing enrollment of all cohorts in this potentially important study.”

The study is a double-blinded, randomized, and placebo-controlled safety study of AT-301 nasal spray in 32 healthy adult subjects divided into two study groups. Part A consists of two single-dose cohorts receiving either active therapy, AT-301B, or the placebo comparator AT-301A at two different doses. Part B is a multiple dose arm with cohorts receiving either AT-301A or AT-301B for 14 days at two different doses. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of single and multiple doses of AT-301 administered via nasal instillation to healthy volunteers. Secondary objectives are to assess the incidence and severity of local irritation and bronchospasm following administration of AT-301 via nasal instillation. The study is being conducted in Australia.

Avance Clinical Chief Scientific Officer Gabriel Kremmidiotis PhD, BSC Hon said:

‘It is a privilege to have been selected by Atossa Therapeutics to manage their AT-301 nasal spray for COVID-19 clinical trial. This study is the latest addition to a number of studies that Avance Clinical has been managing for Atossa Therapeutics over the past 5 years. Our relationship with Atossa Therapeutics epitomises  Avance Clinical’s  service model where our team become part of the client’s drug development team, executing clinical development  with the big picture in mind, assisting our clients to achieve their goals across their whole product pipeline and not just delivering transactional clinical trial management.’

Adelaide, Australia-based CMAX Clinical Research is also part of the study and Jane Kelly, CEO at CMAX Clinical Research said, “I am excited to be at the forefront with Avance Clinical supporting Atossa Therapeutics develop a COVID treatment. South Australia was able to move quickly through ethics and get our first participant dosed at a record pace”.

ABOUT ATOSSA THERAPEUTICS

Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need with a current focus on breast cancer and COVID-19. For more information, please visit www.atossatherapeutics.com.

See full announcement here https://atossatherapeutics.com/atossa-therapeutics-announces-enrollment-and-dosing-completed-in-first-group-of-healthy-participants-in-clinical-study-of-at-301-nasal-spray-being-developed-for-treatment-of-covid-19/

The leading Australian CRO for biotechs and Frost & Sullivan 2020 Asia-Pacific CRO Market Leadership Award winner Avance Clinical has been contracted to conduct a clinical study of Atossa Therapeutics’ proprietary drug candidate AT-301, to be administered by nasal spray. Avance has successfully completed multiple clinical studies of Atossa’s proprietary Endoxifen.

Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need with a current focus on breast cancer and COVID-19.

Yvonne Lungerhausen, CEO, Avance Clinical said:

“Avance Clinical is very pleased to be working with Atossa Therapeutics again on their second COVID-19 Therapeutic Development Program. Atossa is a valued long-term client that clearly understands the excellence in clinical research available in Australia, and the many benefits of conducting studies in the region.”

According to Atossa Therapeutics:

AT-301 is Atossa’s proprietary formula intended for nasal administration in patients immediately following diagnosis of COVID-19 but who have not yet exhibited symptoms severe enough to require hospitalization. It is intended for at-home use to proactively reduce symptoms of COVID-19 and to slow the infection rate so that a person’s immune system can more effectively fight SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus). Atossa also intends to conduct testing to determine whether AT-301 can be used as a prophylaxis to prevent or mitigate SARS-CoV-2.

The study is a double-blinded, randomized, and placebo-controlled safety study of AT-301 nasal spray in 32 healthy adult subjects divided into two study groups. Part A consists of two single-dose cohorts receiving either active therapy, AT-301B, or the placebo comparator AT-301A. Part B is a multiple dose arm with cohorts receiving either AT-301A or AT-301B for 14 days. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of single and multiple doses of AT-301 administered via nasal instillation to healthy volunteers. Secondary objectives are to assess the incidence and severity of local irritation and bronchospasm following administration of AT-301 via nasal instillation.

“Our AT-301 nasal spray program is being developed for COVID-19 patients who are not hospitalized, which complements our AT-H201 program being developed for COVID-19 patients on ventilators,” commented Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of Atossa. “Many COVID-19 patients are infected via the nasal passage, which makes a nasal spray therapy potentially very attractive. Collectively, the components of AT-301 are believed to replicate a ‘vaccine-like mechanism’ to help maintain a protective mucosal barrier within the nasal cavity with anti-viral properties that may lead to lower infectivity and reduced symptoms in COVID-19 patients due to their interference with the spike protein of the virus in the nasal cavity and upper respiratory tract. We may eventually develop AT-301 as a prophylaxis to reduce risk of being infected with COVID-19. For example, it could be taken as a daily vaccine-like treatment for people at higher-risk, such as TSA workers, emergency medical professionals and hospital personnel,” concluded Dr. Quay.

An application to commence the study has been submitted to the relevant institutional review board (IRB) and local regulatory authority in Australia which must be approved before commencement of the study. Pending these approvals, Atossa expects that the study will commence this quarter.

Adequate and well-controlled studies to demonstrate safety and efficacy must be successfully completed and regulatory approvals must be obtained before AT-301 may be commercialized. Atossa has filed provisional patent applications on AT-301 to treat patients diagnosed with, or to prevent, COVID-19 via nasal spray.

ABOUT ATOSSA THERAPEUTICS

Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need with a current focus on breast cancer and COVID-19. For more information, please visit www.atossatherapeutics.com.

See full announcement here https://atossatherapeutics.com/atossa-therapeutics-contracts-for-clinical-study-of-at-301-nasal-spray-atossas-second-covid-19-therapeutic-development-program/