ENA Respiratory announces new funding, personnel to support Phase 2b study of INNA-051 antiviral nasal spray

ENA Respiratory announced preparations for a Phase 2b study of its INNA-051 pegylated TLR2/6 agonist nasal spray for the prevention of respiratory viruses in people aged 65 and older will be supported by an additional $3.8 million from the US Department of Defense (DOD) as well as by several new clinical appointments. In January 2023, the company said that it had received $4.38 million from the DOD for scale up and for development of an intranasal dry powder formulation of INNA-051. According to ENA, the new funding will go toward toxicology and safety studies necessary to enable the Phase 2b trial.

Earlier this year, ENA Respiratory reported that a Phase 2a flu challenge study of the nasal spray demonstrated that the existing formulation reduced the duration of infection but that interpretation of the data was complicated by the need to exclude a large proportion of the subjects who turned out to have pre-existing immunity to the strain used for the challenge.

The new appointments are all former senior GSK inhalation clinical development and COPD Foundation personnel, including Courtney Crim as Acting Chief Medical Officer and clinical consultant; Bruce Miller as clinical consultant; and Ruth Tal-Singer as Medicine Development Leader. ENA is partnered with the COPD Foundation on development of INNA-051. Crim is currently the COPD Foundation’s COPD360 Medical Director; Miller is Chief Scientific Officer of the foundation, and Tal-Singer was most recently President and CEO of the organization.

ENA Respiratory CEO Christophe Demaison commented, “Early studies validated the safety of INNA-051 and provided proof of pharmacology by accelerating virus clearance and boosting host defense responses against common respiratory viruses. We are grateful for the US DOD support and look forward to continuing to study INNA-051 in preventing respiratory illnesses, especially in those at greatest risk of exposure, complications, or hospitalization.”

Regarding the appointments, Demaison said, “Our accomplished team brings decades of experience leading clinical research programs for respiratory diseases and successfully submitting new therapies for regulatory approvals in the US, Europe, and other regions. With these additions to our team, we are well-positioned to continue the clinical development of INNA-051 in the context of natural respiratory tract infections in individuals with increased risk of severe illness or exposure.”

Read the Ena Respiratory press release.