Pneumagen Announces £2.5m fundraising to advance universal treatment for viral respiratory infections into the clinic this year

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, Jan. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pneumagen Ltd, focused on preventing and treating respiratory infections by targeting the human glycome, today announced a further GBP2.5 million investment from existing investors plus a new undisclosed global corporate investor, based in the US. The investment will be used to support the clinical development of Neumifil™ in 2021 as an intra-nasal formulation for the prevention and treatment of influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and COVID-19. This additional investment follows on from last year's announcement of a GBP £4 million investment, and brings the total amount of financing raised to circa £9.5 million.

Neumifil™ is a first-in-class Carbohydrate Binding Module (mCBMs), generated using the Company's proprietary GlycoTarge™ platform. This unique modality binds to receptors that are used by pathogens to enter the respiratory airways, thereby preventing infection and avoiding resistance. It is being developed for the universal treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) caused by Influenza Virus and Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and now coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19. Neumifil has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of RTIs, providing patients total protection against respiratory pathogens including COVID-19 variant strains or new emerging viruses with pandemic potential.

Douglas Thomson, CEO of Pneumagen, said: "Our mission is to develop our novel pan viral approach to combat infectious respiratory diseases such as influenza, RSV, COVID-19, and other emerging viruses with pandemic potential. I am delighted with this additional investment and the endorsement that the participation of our new corporate investor brings. This investment will enable us to progress Neumifil into the clinic in mid 2021, as a universal intra-nasal treatment for infectious diseases."

About Pneumagen

Pneumagen is a spin-out from the University of St Andrews in Scotland and has access to world-class scientific expertise and capabilities in glycobiology.

The company 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. Please visit www.pneumagen.com for more information.

Contact details:

Katja Stout, Scius Communications
[email protected]

Douglas Thomson, Pneumagen Ltd
[email protected]

SOURCE Pneumagen