CHATHAM, N.J., July 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:TNXP) (Tonix or the Company), a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company with marketed products and a pipeline of development candidates, today announced it has been awarded an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) with a potential for up to $34 million over five years by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The objective of the contract is to develop small molecule broad-spectrum antiviral agents for the prevention or treatment of infections to improve the medical readiness of military personnel in biological threat environments.
Tonix's program will focus on optimization and development of its TNX-4200 program, to develop an orally available CD45 antagonist, with broad-spectrum efficacy against a range of viral families through preclinical evaluation. The program is expected to establish physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetics, and safety attributes to support an Investigational New Drug (IND) submission and to fund a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical study.
"Through our agreement with DTRA, our broad-spectrum antiviral research program will address the DoD's goal of protecting U.S. Joint Forces in the event biological weapons are introduced onto the battlefield," said Seth Lederman, M.D., President, and Chief Executive Officer of Tonix. "The DoD announced in December 2022 that they are moving beyond a ‘one bug, one drug' approach and are seeking broad-spectrum drugs since one cannot predict which or how many viruses may be deployed.1 This funding provides important validation for our ongoing research and current in-house capabilities, and will enable Tonix to advance its antiviral discovery program."
The $34 million five-year contract will help fund and accelerate the development of the Company's broad-spectrum antiviral program, which has the potential to reduce viral load and allow the adaptive immune system to alert the other arms of the immune system to mount a protective response. Tonix plans to leverage previous research on phosphatase inhibitors, specifically compounds that target CD45, to optimize lead compounds for therapeutic intervention of biothreat agents and provide the government with a complete and cost-effective solution for a broad-spectrum medical countermeasure. Tonix's premise is that partial inhibition of CD45 will provide optimal antiviral protection while requiring lower plasma drug concentrations, a lower dose, and a better safety profile.
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