Qnovia, Inc., a pharma company developing inhaled therapeutics across a variety of indication areas, announced it has entered into a drug development collaboration with the University of Virginia (UVA) to advance novel inhaled-drug candidates for treating bacterial infections in the lungs. Qnovia will work with UVA School of Medicine investigators Dr. Molly Hughes and Dr. Matthew Crawford to combine Qnovia’s RespiRxTM inhaled drug delivery platform and UVA’s proprietary portfolio of antimicrobial peptides to kill antibiotic-resistant and biodefense bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections. As a result of this agreement, Qnovia will add two new assets to its development pipeline: QN-05 for the treatment of pneumonia and QN-06 for the treatment of pulmonary infection for individuals exposed to the biodefense agent B. anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax.
“We are delighted to be working with the team at UVA to combine their exciting work on lead-series antimicrobial peptides with our inhaled drug delivery platform. We believe our technology has the potential to provide meaningful therapeutic options for patients combating life-threatening infectious diseases,” said Brian Quigley, Qnovia’s Chief Executive Officer. “We believe this collaboration further validates our platform technology and its potential to improve patient outcomes across a variety of indication areas.”
Researchers at the UVA School of Medicine completed feasibility studies using Qnovia’s inhaled drug delivery platform with select peptides and demonstrated in vitro bactericidal efficacy against clinically important pathogens. The studies confirmed peptide stability, favorable aerosolization efficiency, and complete active pharmaceutical ingredient recovery utilizing Qnovia’s platform. Development program milestones for QN-05 and QN-06 include drug-product formulation and stability, as well as in vivo safety and efficacy models. Additional high-priority indication areas for the inhaled delivery of UVA’s bactericidal peptides using Qnovia’s drug delivery platform will continue to be explored as part of the agreement.
“Multidrug-resistant bacteria increasingly cause infections that cannot be effectively treated with available antibiotic therapy and, thus, are an immediate threat to global health,” said Dr. Molly Hughes, Principal Investigator at UVA. “We are excited for the opportunity to pursue inhaled delivery to advance our peptides towards improving the lives of patients afflicted by difficult-to-treat bacterial infections.”
UVA School of Medicine researchers recently published their work identifying the antimicrobial regions of the human chemokine CXCL10, as well as functionalizing discrete peptide derivatives that have therapeutic potential and will be investigated under the current collaboration agreement.
Other assets in Qnovia’s pipeline include QN-01, a prescription inhaled smoking cessation therapy, QN-02 for asthma and COPD, QN-03 for pain management, and QN-04 for depression and anxiety.
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