Компания ENA Respiratory получила 2,98 млн австралийских долларов для клинических испытаний нового средства от астмы

Inside Biotech: ENA Respiratory secures A$2.98 million to advance INNA-051 asthma study Published: 11:11 02 Sep 2026 AEST ENA Respiratory has secured A$2.98 million in funding from Australia’s Biointelect Venturer to support a first-in-patients study of its INNA-051 nasal spray in people with asthma. The funding, awarded as part of Biointelect Venturer’s inaugural funding round, will support a Phase Ib Australian study assessing the safety and biological activity of INNA-051 in adults with asthma. The randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled ENA-A-04 study is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027. ENA Respiratory CEO Christophe Demaison, PhD, said: “We are proud to have received this grant from Biointelect Venturer. It will enable us to expand our clinical program in a high-risk patient population. “Patients with asthma are at significant risk of complications from respiratory infections and this study will inform future development in this group and other at-risk populations such as those with other chronic respiratory conditions like COPD.” Testing INNA-051 in asthma patients The Phase Ib trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of intranasal INNA-051 in adults with asthma. Asthma patients can experience delayed innate antiviral responses, potentially allowing respiratory viruses to spread into the lower respiratory tract and worsen airway inflammation and clinical symptoms. ENA said preclinical and safety pharmacology studies indicated intranasal INNA-051 was not expected to exacerbate asthma and could help restore innate immune responses. Studies using bronchial epithelial cells from donors with moderate-to-severe asthma have also demonstrated a significant reduction in rhinovirus load, supporting further clinical development in the patient group. INNA-051 is designed as a virus-agnostic, once-weekly dry powder nasal spray that primes the body's natural antiviral defences in the nose, where respiratory viruses including influenza, RSV, rhinovirus and coronaviruses commonly enter. The treatment is being developed with the aim of reducing symptomatic respiratory infections and complications in people at greater risk of severe illness. Phase II program progressing The new asthma study will broaden ENA Respiratory’s clinical development program while INNA-051 continues through a Phase IIa community study in the US. The Phase II POSITS study is evaluating once-weekly INNA-051 treatment for up to three months and assessing its effect on the incidence, duration and severity of symptomatic respiratory infections. The study includes young adults at higher risk of infection because they live or work in crowded environments. Part A of the trial was successfully completed in May 2026, with dosing in Part B expected to begin during the next North American respiratory virus season. Biointelect Venturer general manager Danielle Shand said: “This inaugural cohort of funding recipients, including ENA Respiratory, reflects exactly what Biointelect Venturer was established to do: accelerate high-quality Australian infectious disease innovations that address significant local and global health priorities and deliver investment-ready ventures. “These companies can deliver substantial value through their discoveries but often face difficult early investment conditions and critical gaps between research and commercial readiness. By combining catalytic funding with hands-on commercialisation support, we can help promising technologies close those gaps.” About ENA Respiratory ENA Respiratory is a Melbourne-headquartered clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing host defence enhancers aimed at strengthening the body’s first line of defence against respiratory viral infections. Its lead candidate, INNA-051, is a toll-like receptor 2/6 agonist designed to stimulate innate immune responses locally in the respiratory tract. The once-weekly nasal dry powder treatment is being developed for populations at elevated risk from respiratory infections, including older people, patients with chronic medical conditions and people exposed to increased occupational risks. ENA has operations in Australia and the US and is backed by investors including Brandon Capital, Flu Lab, the Gates Foundation, Minderoo Foundation, Stoic Venture Capital and Uniseed.