On Jun. 23, 2022, Innovation Pharmaceuticals reported that Brilacidin, the Company’s defensin-mimetic drug candidate exhibiting broad-spectrum antiviral activity, inhibited the Omicron (B.1.1.529) and Delta (B.1.617.2) variants of SARS-CoV-2 based on in vitro testing conducted in collaboration with National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases scientists.

Researchers at Rutgers University had also shown Brilacidin inhibited in vitro the Gamma (P.1) and Alpha (B.1.1.7) variants of SARS-CoV-2.

Identifying COVID-19 countermeasures with novel mechanisms of action is vital. SARS-CoV-2 continued to evolve at an accelerated pace, raising questions as to what the dominant variant (or sub-variant) may be this fall and winter, when infections often spike — and if today’s COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics can maintain their effectiveness.