Caliciviridae Infections

- Topline data expected in mid-2025 - SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vaxart, Inc. (Nasdaq: VXRT) today announced that it completed enrollment of its Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating its second-generation oral norovirus vaccine constructs head-to-head against its first-generation constructs. “Completing enrollment in this trial bring us one step closer in our development of a norovirus vaccine, where there is a significant unmet need,” said Steven Lo, Chief Executive Officer of Vaxart. "We are excited about the potential of our second-generation oral norovirus vaccine constructs that we believe may be more potent than our first-generation constructs. We look forward to sharing the topline data in mid-2025.” The Phase 1 trial is an open label, dose ranging clinical study designed to evaluate Vaxart’s second-generation oral norovirus vaccine constructs head-to-head against its first-generation constructs. The study will measure safety and immune parameters that have correlated to protection in the completed norovirus challenge study. Norovirus is a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide, and Vaxart's oral vaccine candidate aims to provide a convenient and effective solution for this significant public health challenge. An independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) conducted a pre-planned interim safety data review and recommended the study to continue without any modifications. If the Phase 1 trial is successful, and assuming a partnership or other funding, Vaxart expects to conduct a Phase 2 safety and immunogenicity study that could potentially begin as early as the second half of 2025, followed by an End of Phase 2 meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A Phase 3 trial could then begin as early as 2026. About Vaxart Vaxart is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a range of oral recombinant vaccines based on its proprietary delivery platform. Vaxart vaccines are designed to be administered using pills that can be stored and shipped without refrigeration and eliminate the risk of needle-stick injury. Vaxart believes that its proprietary pill vaccine delivery platform is suitable to deliver recombinant vaccines, positioning the company to develop oral versions of currently marketed vaccines and to design recombinant vaccines for new indications. Vaxart’s development programs currently include pill vaccines designed to protect against coronavirus, norovirus and influenza, as well as a therapeutic vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), Vaxart’s first immune-oncology indication. Vaxart has filed broad domestic and international patent applications covering its proprietary technology and creations for oral vaccination using adenovirus and TLR3 agonists. Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding Vaxart's strategy, prospects, plans and objectives, funding milestones, the results of the FDA’s review of any trials, studies, or data, results from clinical trials and the timing of such results and such trials, commercialization agreements and licenses, and beliefs and expectations of management are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may be accompanied by such words as “should,” “believe,” “could,” “potential,” “will,” “expected,” “anticipate,” “plan,” and other words and terms of similar meaning. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to Vaxart’s ability to complete the Phase 1 trial of its oral bivalent norovirus vaccine; Vaxart's ability to develop and commercialize its product candidates, including its vaccine booster products; Vaxart's expectations regarding clinical results and trial data, including their design, and the timing of such trials and of receiving and reporting such clinical results and trial data; Vaxart’s expectations regarding timing of enrollment in studies; and Vaxart's expectations with respect to the effectiveness of its product candidates and the potential of its vaccine pill platform. Vaxart may not actually achieve the plans, carry out the intentions, or meet the expectations or projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions, expectations, and projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements. Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that Vaxart makes, including uncertainties inherent in research and development, including the ability to meet anticipated clinical endpoints, commencement, and/or completion dates for clinical trials, regulatory submission dates, regulatory approval dates, and/or launch dates, as well as the possibility of unfavorable new clinical data and further analyses of existing clinical data; the risk that clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments by regulatory authorities; whether regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the design of and results from the clinical studies; decisions by regulatory authorities impacting labeling, manufacturing processes, and safety that could affect the availability or commercial potential of any product candidate, including the possibility that Vaxart's product candidates may not be approved by the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities; that, even if approved by the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities, Vaxart's product candidates may not achieve broad market acceptance; that a Vaxart collaborator may not attain development and commercial milestones; that Vaxart or its partners may experience manufacturing issues and delays due to events within, or outside of, Vaxart's or its partners' control; difficulties in production, particularly in scaling up initial production, including difficulties with production costs and yields, quality control, including stability of the product candidate and quality assurance testing, shortages of qualified personnel or key raw materials, and compliance with strictly enforced federal, state, and foreign regulations; that Vaxart may not be able to obtain, maintain, and enforce necessary patent and other intellectual property protection; that Vaxart's capital resources may be inadequate; Vaxart's ability to resolve pending legal matters; Vaxart's ability to obtain sufficient capital to fund its operations on terms acceptable to Vaxart, if at all; the impact of government healthcare proposals and policies; competitive factors; and other risks described in the "Risk Factors" sections of Vaxart's Quarterly and Annual Reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Vaxart does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Contact Vaxart Media and Investor Relations Matt SteinbergFINN PartnersIR@vaxart.com(646) 871-8481 This press release was published by a CLEAR® Verified individual.

Strong Use of Composition-of-Matter Coverage: Patent protects the molecular structure of RHB-107, providing market exclusivity beyond method-of-use claims COVID-19 Therapeutic Use: Includes coverage for treatment of SARS-CoV-2, including wild-type and emerging variants This patent grant enhances RedHill's strategic positioning in the global COVID-19 therapeutic space, a market still expected to be worth more than $3 billion in 2025[1], and expands its patent footprint in Asia, a key pharmaceutical market RHB-107 successfully met the primary endpoint of safety and tolerability, delivering promising reduction in hospitalization efficacy results in a U.S. Phase 2 COVID-19 study[2]. Additional clinical data expected from the externally non-dilutive funded PROTECT study, supported by the U.S. Department of Defense RHB-107 is a novel, patient-friendly oral, once-daily, host-directed potential broad-acting antiviral expected to act independently of viral spike protein mutations[3] RALEIGH, N.C. and TEL-AVIV, Israel, April 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- RedHill Biopharma Ltd. (Nasdaq: RDHL) ("RedHill" or the "Company"), a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the China National Intellectual Property Administration ("CNIPA") has formally allowed a critical use of composition-of-matter patent for RedHill's proprietary investigational compound RHB-107 (upamostat), a potential oral treatment for COVID-19 (patent application No. 202311591091.6). "This newly allowed Chinese patent application is a significant success, enhancing RedHill's strategic positioning in the global COVID-19 therapeutic space – a market still expected to be worth more than three billion dollars in 2025. It provides broad and robust protection of the use of RHB-107, including its structure in oral formulations targeting SARS-CoV-2 infections, including both wild-type and naturally occurring variants and expanding its patent footprint in Asia, a key pharmaceutical market," said Guy Goldberg, RedHill's Chief Business Officer. "It underscores the uniqueness of our antiviral candidate and further strengthens our global intellectual property portfolio as we advance development of a much-needed oral candidate for early, community-based (non-hospitalized) treatment of COVID-19, which still represents a considerable threat to vulnerable patients. As a novel, potentially broad-acting, host-directed antiviral that is expected to act independently of viral spike protein mutations, RHB-107, if approved, could provide a much-needed additional option for use in the early COVID-19 treatment space, alongside Pfizer's Paxlovid." Data from RHB-107's U.S. Phase 2 study, published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, showed a 100% reduction in hospitalization due to COVID-19, with zero patients (0/41) on the RHB-107 arms versus 15% (3/20) hospitalized for COVID-19 on the placebo-controlled arm (nominal p-value=0.0317). The study also showed an approximately 88% reduction in reported new severe COVID-19 symptoms after treatment initiation, with new severe COVID-19 symptoms reported by only 2.4% of the RHB-107 treated group (1/41) compared to 20% (4/20) of patients in the placebo-controlled arm (nominal p-value=0.036). Further post-hoc analysis showed faster recovery periods from severe COVID-19 symptoms with a median of 3 days to recovery with RHB-107 compared to 8 days with placebo. Additional clinical data is expected from the externally non-dilutive funded PROTECT study, supported by the U.S. Department of Defense. About RHB-107 (upamostat) RHB-107 is a proprietary, first-in-class, once-daily orally administered investigational antiviral, that targets human serine proteases involved in preparing the spike protein for viral entry into target cells. Because it is host-cell targeted, RHB-107 is expected to also be effective against emerging viral variants with mutations in the spike protein. RHB-107 is well tolerated; in the initial COVID-19 study, among 41 patients only one reported a drug-related adverse reaction (a mild, self-limited, rash). In addition, RHB-107 inhibits several proteases targeting cancer and inflammatory gastrointestinal disease. RHB-107 has undergone several Phase 1 studies and two Phase 2 studies, demonstrating its clinical safety profile in approximately 200 patients[4]. RedHill acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to RHB-107, excluding China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao, from Germany's Heidelberg Pharma AG (FSE: HPHA) (formerly WILEX AG) for all indications. About RedHill Biopharma RedHill Biopharma Ltd. (Nasdaq: RDHL) is a specialty biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on U.S. development and commercialization of drugs for gastrointestinal diseases, infectious diseases and oncology. RedHill promotes the FDA-approved gastrointestinal drug Talicia, for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in adults[5], with submission planned for marketing authorization in other territories. RedHill's key clinical late-stage development programs include: (i) opaganib (ABC294640), a first-in-class, orally administered sphingosine kinase-2 (SPHK2) selective inhibitor with anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antiviral activity, targeting multiple indications with U.S. Government and academic collaborations for development for radiation and chemical exposure indications such as Gastrointestinal-Acute Radiation Syndrome (GI-ARS), a Phase 2 study in prostate cancer in combination with Bayer's darolutamide and a Phase 2/3 program for hospitalized COVID-19 patients; (ii) RHB-204, an all-in-one, fixed-dose, orally administered, combination antibiotic therapy with a planned Phase 2 study for Crohn's disease and Phase 3-stage for pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) disease; (iii) RHB-104, with positive results from a first Phase 3 study for Crohn's disease; (iv) RHB-107 ( upamostat), an oral broad-acting, host-directed, serine protease inhibitor with potential for pandemic preparedness, is in late-stage development as a treatment for non-hospitalized symptomatic COVID-19 and is also targeting multiple other cancer and inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases; and (v) RHB-102, with potential UK submission for chemotherapy and radiotherapy induced nausea and vomiting, positive results from a Phase 3 study for acute gastroenteritis and gastritis and positive results from a Phase 2 study for IBS-D. RHB-102 is partnered with Hyloris Pharma (EBR: HYL) for worldwide development and commercialization outside North America. More information about the Company is available at: / twitter.com/RedHillBio. Forward Looking Statement This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and may discuss investment opportunities, stock analysis, financial performance, investor relations, and market trends. Such statements may be preceded by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar words. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control and cannot be predicted or quantified, and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation: market and other conditions; the Company's ability to regain and maintain compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market's listing requirements; the risk that the addition of new revenue generating products or out-licensing transactions will not occur; the risk of current uncertainty regarding U.S. government research and development funding and that the U.S. government is under no obligation to continue to support development of our products and can cease such support at any time; the risk that the CNIPA does not grant the patent in a timely manner or at all; the risk that acceptance onto the RNCP Product Development Pipeline or other governmental and non-governmental development programs will not guarantee ongoing development or that any such development will not be completed or successful; the risk that the FDA does not agree with the Company's proposed development plans for its programs; the risk that the Company's development programs and studies may not be successful and, even if successful, such studies and results may not be sufficient for regulatory applications, including emergency use or marketing applications, and that additional studies may be required; the risk of market and other conditions and that the Company will not successfully commercialize its products; as well as risks and uncertainties associated with (i) the initiation, timing, progress and results of the Company's research, manufacturing, pre-clinical studies, clinical trials, and other therapeutic candidate development efforts, and the timing of the commercial launch of its commercial products and ones it may acquire or develop in the future; (ii) the Company's ability to advance its therapeutic candidates into clinical trials or to successfully complete its pre-clinical studies or clinical trials or the development of any necessary commercial companion diagnostics; (iii) the extent and number and type of additional studies that the Company may be required to conduct and the Company's receipt of regulatory approvals for its therapeutic candidates, and the timing of other regulatory filings, approvals and feedback; (iv) the manufacturing, clinical development, commercialization, and market acceptance of the Company's therapeutic candidates and Talicia®; (v) the Company's ability to successfully commercialize and promote Talicia®; (vi) the Company's ability to establish and maintain corporate collaborations; (vii) the Company's ability to acquire products approved for marketing in the U.S. that achieve commercial success and build its own marketing and commercialization capabilities; (viii) the interpretation of the properties and characteristics of the Company's therapeutic candidates and the results obtained with its therapeutic candidates in research, pre-clinical studies or clinical trials; (ix) the implementation of the Company's business model, strategic plans for its business and therapeutic candidates; (x) the scope of protection the Company is able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering its therapeutic candidates and its ability to operate its business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; (xi) parties from whom the Company licenses its intellectual property defaulting in their obligations to the Company; (xii) estimates of the Company's expenses, future revenues, capital requirements and needs for additional financing; (xiii) the effect of patients suffering adverse experiences using investigative drugs under the Company's Expanded Access Program; (xiv) competition from other companies and technologies within the Company's industry; and (xv) the hiring and employment commencement date of executive managers. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 10, 2025. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law. Category: R&D [1] [2] A randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study of upamostat, a host-directed serine protease inhibitor, for outpatient treatment of COVID-19 Plasse, Terry F et al. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 128, 148 – 156. [3] Preliminary data from a recent in vitro study. [4] (22)00638-5/fulltext. [5] Talicia® (omeprazole magnesium, amoxicillin and rifabutin) is indicated for the treatment of H. pylori infection in adults. For full prescribing information see: . Company contact: Adi Frish Chief Corporate & Business Development Officer RedHill Biopharma +972-54-6543-112 [email protected] Logo: SOURCE RedHill Biopharma Ltd. WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

Norovirus GII.17 variants have overtaken GII.4 as the most prevalent strain and significantly increased norovirus outbreaks in the U.S. and European countries in 2024-2025Cocrystal Pharma’s pan-viral protease inhibitor CDI-988 shows superior broad-spectrum antiviral activity against major norovirus variants including GII.4 and GII.17 strainsCompany reported favorable safety and tolerability of CDI-988 in Phase 1 and plans to initiate a human challenge study in 2025 for the treatment and prevention of norovirus infection BOTHELL, Wash., April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cocrystal Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: COCP) (“Cocrystal” or the “Company”) announces that its investigative drug candidate CDI-988 was shown to bind to the highly conserved region of the GII.17 protease with excellent potency, similar to that shown across a range of GII.4 norovirus variants that had been the dominant worldwide strains until this year. The high resolution GII.17 protease crystal structures used in determining CDI-988’s activity were obtained using the Company’s proprietary structure-based platform technology. Cocrystal plans to initiate a human norovirus challenge study in 2025 in the U.S. to evaluate CDI-988 as a potential prevention and treatment of norovirus infection. “Norovirus is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide, yet there are no approved antiviral treatments or vaccines available to combat it,” said Sam Lee, Ph.D., Cocrystal’s President and co-CEO. “Norovirus antiviral and vaccine development has been extremely challenging due to high diversity among variants that include 10 genogroups and 49 genotypes. We are gratified to have determined the first crystal structure of GII.17 protease and demonstrated broad-spectrum antiviral activity of CDI-988 against newly circulating major norovirus GII.17 variants. Based on a novel mechanism of action and superior broad-spectrum antiviral activity, CDI-988 is a compelling candidate for advancement as a first-in-class oral antiviral to be used for both prevention and treatment of norovirus infection.” “Norovirus is a noteworthy research target considering that each year an estimated 685 million cases and approximately 50,000 child deaths are attributed to this virus worldwide, leading to a societal cost estimated at $60 billion,” said James Martin, Cocrystal’s CFO and co-CEO. “We are addressing the urgent need for norovirus and other emerging viral outbreaks through our platform technology that facilitates the rapid, efficient development of potentially highly effective and safe direct-acting antivirals.” Pan-Viral Inhibitor CDI-988 CDI-988 is a protease inhibitor specifically designed and developed as a broad-spectrum antiviral inhibitor to a highly conserved region in the active site of 3CL viral proteases. Based on a novel mechanism of action and superior broad-spectrum antiviral activity, CDI-988 is a compelling candidate for advancement as a first-in-class oral treatment for both noroviruses and coronaviruses. The Company has completed a single-center, randomized, double-blind Phase 1 study in healthy adults evaluating safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics including a food-effect cohort of orally administered CDI-988 compared with placebo. Structure-Based Platform TechnologyCocrystal’s proprietary structural biology, along with its expertise in enzymology and medicinal chemistry, enable its development of novel antiviral agents. The Company’s platform provides a three-dimensional structure of inhibitor complexes at near-atomic resolution, providing immediate insight to guide Structure Activity Relationships. This helps to identify novel binding sites and allows for a rapid turnaround of structural information through highly automated X-ray data processing and refinement. The goal of this technology is to facilitate the development of best-in-class antiviral therapies that have fast onset of action and/or shortened treatment time, are safe, well tolerated and easy to administer, are effective against all viral subtypes that cause disease and have a high barrier to viral resistance. About Cocrystal Pharma, Inc.Cocrystal Pharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing novel antiviral therapeutics that target the replication process of noroviruses, influenza viruses, coronaviruses (including SARS-CoV-2), and hepatitis C viruses. Cocrystal employs unique structure-based technologies and Nobel Prize-winning expertise to create first- and best-in-class antiviral drugs. For further information about Cocrystal, please visit www.cocrystalpharma.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding Cocrystal’s plans to initiate a human challenge study in 2025 for its oral norovirus product candidate, the potential efficacy of such product candidate, and the potential market for such product candidate. The words "believe," "may," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "could," "target," "potential," "is likely," "will," "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events. Some or all of the events anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not occur. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our need for additional capital to fund our operations over the next 12 months, risks relating to our ability to obtain regulatory authority for and proceed with clinical trials including the recruiting of volunteers for such studies by our clinical research organizations and vendors, the results of such studies, our collaboration partners’ technology and software performing as expected, general risks arising from clinical studies, receipt of regulatory approvals, regulatory changes, and potential development of effective treatments and/or vaccines by competitors, and potential mutations in a virus we are targeting that may result in variants that are resistant to a product candidate we develop, the impact of the Trump Administration’s policies and actions on regulations affecting the FDA and other healthcare agencies and potential staffing issues resulting therefrom, as well as other government actions such as tariffs which may cause delays or force us to incur additional costs to proceed with our development programs. Further information on our risk factors is contained in our filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law. Contact:Alliance Advisors IRJody Cain310-691-7100jcain@allianceadvisors.com # # #