HOUSTON, March 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Moleculin
Biotech, Inc., (Nasdaq: MBRX) ("Moleculin" or the "Company"), a
clinical stage pharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of
drug candidates targeting highly resistant tumors, announced that
it has entered into an agreement with the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) to conduct research on
Moleculin's patented portfolio of molecular inhibitors, including
drug candidate, WP1122, for antiviral properties against a range of
viruses, including Coronavirus. UTMB's Center for Biodefense
and Emerging Infectious Diseases collaborates with the Galveston
National Laboratory, which is funded by NIAID, the U.S. Department
of Defense, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
and other federal agencies, as well as academic partners, private
foundations, and the biopharmaceutical industry.
"Published research has revealed that viral replication can be
highly dependent on specific monosaccharides and has demonstrated
the effectiveness of a compound known as '2-DG,' a dual decoy of
glucose and mannose, in the treatment of certain
viruses1," commented Walter
Klemp, Moleculin's Chairman and CEO. "And, this is rooted in
an emerging field of research focused on the role of glycolysis and
glycosylation, or more specifically, on glucose and mannose
metabolism in viral activity, including the
coronavirus2. Importantly, although 2-DG has shown
promise in the laboratory in relevant in vivo models, its potential
as a therapy is severely limited by its lack of drug-like
properties, including circulation time and organ uptake. Our
drug candidate, WP1122, is a prodrug of 2-DG (2-deoxy-D-glucose)
that, based on recently developed preclinical data appears to
overcome 2-DG's lack of drug-like properties and is able to
significantly increase tissue/organ concentration."
Dr. Donald Picker, Chief Science
Officer for Moleculin added: "the in vivo research supporting the
use of 2-DG as dual inhibitor of glycolysis and glycosylation to
defeat viruses like Coronavirus through multiple effects critical
to the progression of viral infection is promising. And, with
the improved drug-like properties of WP1122 and an apparent ability
to increase concentration of the drug in the infected organs, we
are excited to begin testing against coronavirus, as well as
others. Our hope for this kind of therapeutic approach is not
only as a potential treatment for infected patients, but even as a
possible preventative measure."
Under the agreement, Moleculin will supply the lead drug
candidate, WP1122, and related inhibitors, as well as technical
support and UTMB will begin testing these candidates against
various viral disease models, including COVID-19, in connection
with the UTMB Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious
Diseases.
The UTMB Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases
(CBEID) was established in 2003, the same year the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute for Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID) selected UTMB as one of eight
institutions to lead a Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense
and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (RCE) and to receive a
grant to construct on the UTMB campus one of two National
Biocontainment Laboratories, now known as the Galveston National
Laboratory.
About Moleculin Biotech, Inc.
Moleculin Biotech, Inc. is a clinical stage pharmaceutical
company focused on the development of a broad portfolio of oncology
drug candidates for the treatment of highly resistant tumors. The
Company's clinical stage drugs are: Annamycin, a Next Generation
Anthracycline, designed to avoid multidrug resistance mechanisms
with little to no cardiotoxicity being studied for the treatment of
relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia, more commonly
referred to as AML, WP1066, an Immune/Transcription Modulator
capable of inhibiting p-STAT3 and other oncogenic transcription
factors while also stimulating a natural immune response, targeting
brain tumors, pancreatic cancer and hematologic malignancies, and
WP1220, an analog to WP1066, for the topical treatment of cutaneous
T-cell lymphoma. Moleculin is also engaged in preclinical
development of additional drug candidates, including additional
Immune/Transcription Modulators, as well as compounds like WP1122,
capable of Metabolism/Glycosylation Inhibition.
For more information about the Company, please
visit http://www.moleculin.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in this release are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve
risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this press
release include, without limitation, the ability of WP1122 to prove
safe and effective viruses, including Coronavirus and COVID-19.
Although Moleculin believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made,
expectations may prove to have been materially different from the
results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Moleculin Biotech has attempted to identify forward-looking
statements by terminology including ''believes,'' ''estimates,''
''anticipates,'' ''expects,'' ''plans,'' ''projects,'' ''intends,''
''potential,'' ''may,'' ''could,'' ''might,'' ''will,'' ''should,''
''approximately'' or other words that convey uncertainty of future
events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements.
These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including those discussed
under Item 1A. "Risk Factors" in our most recently filed Form 10-K
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and
updated from time to time in our Form 10-Q filings and in our other
public filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements
contained in this release speak only as of its date. We undertake
no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in
this release to reflect events or circumstances occurring after its
date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
1 Wang Y., et al. Triggering unfolded
protein response by 2-Deoxy-D-glucose inhibits porcine epidemic
diarrhea virus propagation. Antiviral Research 106 (2014)
33–41.
Schmidt M., et al. Interference of Nucleoside Diphosphate
Derivatives of 2-Deoxy-D-glucose with the Glycosylation of
Virus-Specific Glycoproteins in vivo. Eur. J. Biochem. 70, 55-62
(1976).
Maehama, T., Patzelt, A., Lengert, M., Hutter, K. J., Kanazawa,
K., et al.
(1998) Selective down-regulation of human papillomavirus
transcription by
2-deoxyglucose. Int. J. Cancer 76, 639–646.
Leung, H. J., Duran, E. M., Kurtoglu, M., Andreansky, S.,
Lampidis, T. J., et al. (2012) Activation of the unfolded protein
response by 2-deoxy-D-glucose inhibits kaposi's sarcoma-associated
herpesvirus replication and gene expression. Antimicrob. Agents
Chemother. 56, 5794–5803
2 Bagdonaite I., et al. Global aspects of
viral glycosylation. Glycobiology. 2018, vol. 28, no. 7, 443–467
doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwy021.
Contacts:
James Salierno / Carol Ruth
The Ruth Group
646-536-7028 / 7000
jsalierno@theruthgroup.com
cruth@theruthgroup.com
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SOURCE Moleculin Biotech, Inc.