Adial Pharmaceuticals Announces Research Collaboration With UC San Diego

Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced Purnovate, Inc., an Adial company focused on developing adenosine analogs for the treatment of major unmet medical needs, has entered into a research collaboration agreement with the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), a leading education and research university, and Dr. Peter Ernst, DVM, PhD, Professor of Pathology and an expert in the fields of immunology, inflammation, and infectious disease, to further evaluate the company’s proprietary adenosine analogs as a potential treatment for inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and infectious diseases where a large immune response (ie, cytokine storm) plays a significant role.

Under the collaboration agreement, Dr. Ernst and his team will initially test Purnovate’s adenosine compounds in non-clinical models of IBD with the goal of further validating the potential of Purnovate’s compounds as a treatment for IBD. IBD is a group of disorders that cause chronic inflammation (pain and swelling) in the intestines, including conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Dr. Ernst stated “Based on experience, I am keen to see whether these adenosine analogs can effectively address the historical challenges of solubility and biodistribution. My team looks forward to evaluating the compounds for their potential therapeutic benefit to patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease and other inflammatory conditions.”

Dr. Julien Dimastromatteo, Purnovate’s Vice President, Research, added “UC San Diego is an ideal partner given Dr. Ernst’s experience working with adenosine compounds and his impressive background in the fields of gastroenterology and immunology. Based on the expected anti-inflammatory properties and improved solubility of our compounds, we believe this research will provide further validation of our approach, with a goal to move into human clinical trials next year.”

William Stilley, Adial’s Chief Executive Officer, also noted “Based on prior pre-clinical data, we are optimistic about the potential of our adenosine compounds to provide therapeutic benefits for inflammatory health conditions such as IBD. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prevalence of IBD is more than 3 million individuals in the US alone. Grand View Research reports that the global IBD treatment market size is expected to reach $27.8 billion by 2028. We believe there is a significant unmet medical need and market potential for a safe and effective therapy for IBD, and the total market for inflammatory conditions is significantly larger.”

University of California San Diego Health Sciences, comprising UC San Diego Health, UC San Diego School of Medicine, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, is one of five academic medical systems within the University of California system. We are committed to improving patient care while also researching new treatments and training tomorrow’s doctors, pharmacists and public health leaders. For more than 50 years, our renowned clinicians and scientists have made advances in numerous fields, including minimally invasive surgeries, personalized cancer therapy, cardiovascular treatment and surgery, transplantation, and early detection of autism. Our specialty patient care is consistently ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report.

Purnovate, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a pharmaceutical development and chemistry company focused on inventing and developing selective, potent, stable, and soluble adenosine analogs to treat diseases and disorders such as pain, asthma, wound/burn healing, inflammation, infectious disease, cancer, diabetes and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Adial Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of treatments for addictions. The Company’s lead investigational new drug product, AD04, is a genetically targeted, serotonin-3 receptor antagonist, therapeutic agent for the treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and is currently being investigated in the Company’s landmark ONWARD™ pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for the potential treatment of AUD in subjects with certain target genotypes, which are to be identified using the Company’s proprietary companion diagnostic genetic test. A Phase 2b clinical trial of AD04 for the treatment of AUD showed promising results in reducing frequency of drinking, quantity of drinking and heavy drinking (all with statistical significance), and no overt safety concerns (there were no statistically significant serious adverse events reported). AD04 is also believed to have the potential to treat other addictive disorders such as Opioid Use Disorder, gambling, and obesity. The Company is also developing adenosine analogs for the treatment of pain and other disorders through its wholly owned subsidiary, Purnovate, Inc. For more information, visit www.adialpharma.com.