HOUSTON, April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Moleculin
Biotech, Inc., (Nasdaq: MBRX) ("Moleculin" or the "Company"), a
clinical stage pharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of
drug candidates, today announced that it has entered into an
agreement with ImQuest Biosciences to expand in vitro and in vivo
testing of WP1122, Moleculin's lead drug candidate for the
treatment of COVID-19.
The announcement follows on the heels of the discovery by
researchers at the Goethe University in
Frankfurt
(https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-17218/v1) that 2
deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG, and the active compound in WP1122) inhibited
SARS-CoV–2 replication in susceptible cell lines.
ImQuest BioSciences is a preclinical CRO that provides expert
services to evaluate the potential of new and novel pharmaceutical
products for the treatment and prevention of viruses, bacteria,
cancer and inflammatory diseases. ImQuest has developed a robust
platform to identify and support the development of therapeutic
products to inhibit and prevent coronavirus infection. These
preclinical research services are part of the ImQuestSUCCESS
Platform and include compound screening to define compound efficacy
and drug target validation to define the mechanism of action and
toxicity of pharmaceutical products, as well as evaluation of the
potential of products to induce resistance and the impact of
combination antiviral therapy.
"While our collaborations with worldclass academic institutions
here and in Europe are very
beneficial, we also consider commercial testing facilities to be an
important part of our strategic approach to development. We
are determined to generate critical data over the next 4 to 8 weeks
that we hope will support an IND (Investigational New Drug)
submission in the US and a CTA (Clinical Trial Authorization)
request in Europe. We believe this agreement with ImQuest will
help us hit those timelines."
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, under
investigation for brain tumors, pancreatic cancer and hematologic
malignancies; and WP1220, an analog to WP1066, being developed 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 WP1122, a compound capable of metabolism/glycosylation
disruption.
For more information about the Company, please
visit http://www.moleculin.com.
About ImQuest BioSciences
ImQuest BioSciences is a
leading preclinical contract research and development organization
(CRO) that provides services to evaluate the potential of new and
novel pharmaceutical products for the treatment and prevention of
infectious disease, cancer and inflammatory diseases. ImQuest
provides expert preclinical research services and compound
screening to define the efficacy, mechanism of action and toxicity
of pharmaceutical products and specializes in the development of
small molecules, natural products, biologics, antimicrobial
peptides, therapeutic antibodies and vaccines for infectious
disease and cancer drug development programs. The ImQuest team is
committed to earning client's trust and building long term
relationships through collaboration, unwavering commitment to
quality science and consistent and effective communication.
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 demonstrate
safety and efficacy in humans, our ability to generate critical
data in the next 4 to 8 weeks, and our ability to submit an IND
and/or CTA. 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. The
Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the
interim results announced today.
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.