A Letter From Algernon Pharmaceuticals CEO Christopher Moreau
December 8, 2020,
Dear Algernon Newsletter Subscriber:
I would like to personally thank each one of you for your ongoing interest and support of Algernon Pharmaceuticals.
Our recent announcement that we have completed enrollment for the Phase 2b part of our multinational Phase 2b/3 human study of NP-120 (Ifenprodil) for the treatment of COVID-19, is a major milestone for the Company.
If you have not yet had a chance to read the news release, please click here on the following link: Final Patient Enrolled
In the release, we also announced that interim data from the COVID-19 study is now projected to be available during the third week of December. While the early data report will only be based on 75 patients at day 15 of their participation in the study, it should provide us with important trending information on Ifenprodil’s activity.
It has been a very busy nine months since we announced in early March 2020 that Algernon was going to explore Ifenprodil as a possible therapeutic treatment for COVID-19. This was based on data we received about Ifenprodil’s strong performance in an independent H5N1 animal study, one of the world’s most lethal avian flu viruses.
In this short time period, we fast-tracked Ifenprodil’s introduction to the U.S. FDA and Health Canada, and we were able to achieve approval for our 150 patient multinational phase 2b/3 clinical trial.
At Algernon, we believe that recent reports of positive data and approvals for some of the COVID-19 vaccines being advanced is welcome news for all of us. However, we also believe that there will always be a need for effective therapeutic options for physicians to utilize in treating patients.
As effective as vaccines can be, crucial key issues remain:
- A recent Gallup poll reports that only 58% of U.S. citizens are willing to take a vaccine
- Not everyone that takes the vaccine will achieve immunity
- It could take upwards of one year or more for global availability of the vaccine (s)
- A vaccine is pathogen specific and current vaccines will only target COVID-19 and not any new strains or new viruses that may present in the future
Finally, please note that we also have a 20 patient Phase 2 human clinical trial underway for Ifenprodil, for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic cough. We had very strong animal data from our preclinical studies for Ifenprodil related to these specific indications and we look forward to completing enrollment in this study as well. We will update the market when we achieve 50% of our target enrollment.
Thank you once again for your ongoing interest and support and I would encourage you to visit our website at www.algernonpharmaceuticals.com to see additional news releases, as well as related media stories and interviews on our progress.
Sincerely,
Christopher J. Moreau
Chief Executive Officer
Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc.
604.398.4175 ext 701
info@algernonpharmaceuticals.com
investors@algernonpharmaceuticals.com
www.algernonpharmaceuticals.com.
