ENA Respiratory is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company tackling respiratory viral infections through the development of host defence enhancers which locally prime and boost the body’s natural first line of defence against invading pathogens. Being virus-agnostic, ENA’s approach offers a solution to protect against common and emerging respiratory viruses for which vaccines or direct-acting antivirals have limitations or do not exist.
The company’s lead product, INNA-051, is being developed as a convenient, once-a-week nasal dry powder product to reduce the impact of viral respiratory infections and prevent severe complications in at-risk populations, including the elderly, those with an underlying medical condition (including chronic lung conditions, diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease) and individuals with occupational risk (e.g. first responders, military or essential services personnel).
INNA-051 is a potent agonist of toll-like receptor 2/6 (TLR2/6) which plays a key role in recognising pathogens and potentiating innate immune responses. With a safety profile supporting seasonal prophylaxis use, it has demonstrated accelerated virus clearance and stimulation of antiviral host defences, including IFN Type I & III responses, in a Phase IIa proof-of-principle study using a human influenza-challenge model.
Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with operations in the USA, ENA’s Investors include Brandon Capital, Flu Lab, the Gates Foundation, the Minderoo Foundation, Stoic Venture Capital and Uniseed. The Company is partnered with the US COPD Foundation to support patient-focused clinical development of INNA-051 in COPD and has been awarded contracts from the U.S. Government. It is an alumni member of BLUE KNIGHT™, a joint initiative between Johnson & Johnson Innovation and BARDA designed to accelerate novel potential solutions for future pandemics.
