HOUSTON, Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Moleculin Biotech,
Inc., (Nasdaq: MBRX) (Moleculin or the Company), a clinical stage
pharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of drug
candidates targeting significant unmet needs in the treatment
of tumors and viruses, announced that its research team has
discovered that a molecule within its portfolio of antimetabolites
has displayed significant in vitro antiviral activity against
SARS-CoV-2. Independent laboratory testing of the new drug
candidate, called "WP1096," has now repeatedly demonstrated a
therapeutic index of greater than 10, which is considered by our
team to be an industry-standard commercialization threshold for in
vitro performance of antiviral drugs.
Walter Klemp, Chairman and CEO of
Moleculin, stated, "While we continue to see encouraging progress
with WP1122 in preparation for clinical trials for the potential
treatment of COVID-19, we have also continued our antiviral drug
discovery program to expand the range of potential therapies. Our
efforts led to a new discovery that we believe can be a
game-changer. WP1096 and its close analog, WP1097, are
structurally slightly different agents within the WP1122
portfolio. However, small structural changes unexpectedly
resulted in high levels of antiviral activity and potentially a
unique mode of action. The in vitro performance is significant
enough that we simply must now consider proceeding with the
necessary preclinical support for these additional molecules for
antiviral clinical trials in addition to the lead molecule,
WP1122."
Mr. Klemp continued, "The in vitro therapeutic index of WP1096
against SARS-CoV-2 appears to meet the level needed to support
preclinical studies aimed to fully assess the commercial potential
of WP1096. That alone is compelling data, but the unexpected
performance of both WP1096 and WP1097 may be the result of
mechanistic differences from the rest of our antimetabolite
portfolio, which has pushed us to evaluate their potential in other
viruses and related diseases like HIV, Zika, Dengue Fever and
others."
Mr. Klemp concluded, "This was an unexpected discovery and one
that really demands an adaptive change in development strategy on
our part. While we continue our preclinical development work
on WP1122, including in vivo testing for SARS-CoV-2, we are now
expanding our program by adding these two new molecules as
well. We anticipate it will take at least twelve months of
development work to assess clinical potential for these new
molecules and file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to
the US Food and Drug Administration. In the meantime, we expect to
be communicating more in vitro test results for activity in
additional viruses in the near future."
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 and
viruses. 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
other Immune/Transcription Modulators, as well as WP1122 and
related compounds 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 the Company's
antimetabolites to be shown safe and effective for infectious
diseases and to submit within twelve months an Investigational New
Drug application to the US Food and Drug Administration. 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.
Contacts
James Salierno
/ Carol Ruth
The Ruth Group
973-255-8361 /
917-859-0214
jsalierno@theruthgroup.com
cruth@theruthgroup.com
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/moleculin-announces-discovery-of-significant-in-vitro-activity-against-covid-19-virus-for-new-antimetabolites-301139682.html
SOURCE Moleculin Biotech, Inc.