- Pneumagen’s intranasal broad-spectrum antiviral therapy reduced infection, improved symptoms and severity and reduced viral load in a Phase II influenza study in data published in the high-impact, peer-reviewed Infectious Diseases and Therapy journal.
St Andrews, UK – 2 July 2025 – Pneumagen, a clinical stage biotech company developing Neumifil (HEX17), a broad-spectrum antiviral, intranasal drug for the prophylaxis and treatment of viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs), announces the publication of its Phase II Proof of Concept, Controlled Human Infection Model (CHIM) study investigating the efficacy and safety of Neumifil in the peer-reviewed journal Infectious Diseases and Therapy.
These clinical data are published in a paper entitled, “A Phase II, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy of HEX17, a novel broad-spectrum antiviral drug, in a controlled human infection model of influenza challenge,” and confirm the potential of Neumifil as a first in class protein-based antiviral treatment for respiratory viral infections.
The publication is available on the Publications page of our website.
The published data highlight that Neumifil reduces the incidence of symptomatic influenza infection in a clinically and statistically significant way compared to placebo and has the potential to provide at risk patients with protection against infection by the influenza virus. Neumifil was well tolerated with no new emergent adverse events or safety signals from the study.
The Phase II CHIM study (Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT05507567) was a single centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 104 healthy adults evaluating two dose regimens of Neumifil, administered as an intranasal spray to participants who were subsequently infected with influenza virus. The primary outcomes were the incidence of symptomatic influenza infection and the severity of influenza symptoms in the pooled Neumifil arm versus placebo.
Based on the promising preclinical and clinical data generated to date, Pneumagen is planning to advance Neumifil into further clinical studies. These will include the evaluation of Neumifil’s ability to reduce the incidence of viral induced exacerbations in patients with underlying risk factors.
Douglas Thomson, Chief Executive Officer at Pneumagen said: “We are proud to have the results of our Phase II study of Neumifil published in a high-impact, peer-reviewed journal. This publication highlights the potential of our novel intranasal broad-spectrum antiviral therapy to dramatically improve outcomes for patients with virus-induced exacerbations and reduce the burden on healthcare systems worldwide.”
Dr Geoff Kitson, Chief Medical Officer and lead author of the study, commented “There remains a significant unmet need in preventing viral-induced exacerbations in patients with underlying pulmonary diseases. In our study, we observed meaningful reductions in symptom severity and viral load, offering hope for a new, effective intervention for at-risk populations.”
END
About Pneumagen
Pneumagen is a clinical-stage biotech company developing Neumifil, its lead product, a broad-spectrum antiviral, intranasal drug for the prophylaxis and treatment of viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs).
Neumifil is a novel, engineered, multivalent, Carbohydrate Binding Module (mCBM). It acts by directly binding and preventing the entry into the host of the viral pathogens. Neumifil was generated using Pneumagen’s proprietary GlycoTarge™ technology.
Pneumagen was established in 2016 as a spin-out from the University of St Andrews in Scotland giving Pneumagen access to world-class scientific expertise and capabilities in viral infections specifically related to glycobiology.
For further information, please contact:
Pneumagen
Douglas Thomson, CEO
Email: info@pneumagen.com
MEDiSTRAVA Consulting (Financial PR)
Sandi Greenwood, Frazer Hall
Email: Pneumagen@medistrava.com
