BERWYN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Virpax® Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Virpax” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: VRPX), a company specializing in developing non-addictive products for pain management, post-traumatic stress disorder, and central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced that the Company has engaged New England Investors, LLC to serve as the out-licensing advisor for Envelta in the People’s Republic of China. Envelta is Virpax’s non-opioid pain product candidate for acute and chronic pain including non-cancer pain.
“We have engaged New England Investors, a life-sciences advisory firm, to represent us in our licensing efforts in China for Envelta,” stated Anthony P. Mack, Chairman and CEO of Virpax Pharmaceuticals. “New England Investors has offices in the United States along with mainland China and Singapore. We believe that their China focus, along with their cross-border transactional experience in both pre-clinical and clinical pharmaceutical products, makes them an outstanding partner for us.
“Overall, we believe we have a team of leading professionals in their fields to assist us as we move into the next phase of our development as a pharmaceutical company focused on pain and CNS disorders. We look forward to working with our teams on our product candidates and believe that Virpax will benefit greatly from their knowledge and experience,” concluded Mr. Mack.
“We believe that Virpax’s Envelta product under development for acute and chronic pain may be of interest to a number of Chinese pharmaceutical companies. The MET delivery system which crosses the blood brain barrier, is of special interest as it can potentially avoid the numerous side effects of pain medication currently in use. A patent for Envelta has recently been filed in China and we intend to begin our efforts with our Chinese colleagues shortly,” commented Mr. David Place, Managing Director of New England Investors, LLC.
Envelta is being funded under an in-kind grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded to Virpax in August of 2020. The product candidate is an intranasal spray of enkephalin nanoparticles that uses Molecular Envelope Technology (MET) as its delivery system to cross the blood brain barrier via the olfactory route while bypassing the liver.
About New England Investors LLC
New England Investors LLC ("NEI") ( ) is an advisory firm to North American and European biotech/pharmaceutical companies seeking to monetize their early and mid-stage assets via out-license to companies based in the People's Republic of China, while also working with China domestic pharmaceutical companies seeking to out-license to the West. For more than 15 years, NEI has advised a broad range of clients including large, multinational Fortune 500 companies and early-stage companies, also acting as principal on its own behalf in several transactions.
About Virpax PharmaceuticalsVirpax is developing branded, non-addictive pain management products candidates using its proprietary technologies to optimize and target drug delivery. Virpax is initially seeking FDA approval for two prescription drug candidates that employ two different patented drug delivery platforms. Probudur™ is a single injection liposomal bupivacaine formulation being developed to manage post-operative pain and Envelta™ is an intranasal molecular envelope enkephalin formulation being developed to manage acute and chronic pain, including pain associated with cancer. Virpax is also using its intranasal Molecular Envelope Technology (MET) to develop two other product candidates. PES200 is a product candidate being developed to manage post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and NobrXiol™ is a product candidate being developed for the nasal delivery of a pharmaceutical-grade cannabidiol (CBD) for the management of rare pediatric epilepsy. Virpax acquired global rights to NobrXiol. Virpax is also seeking approval of two nonprescription product candidates: AnQlar, which is being developed to inhibit viral replication caused by influenza or SARS-CoV-2, and Epoladerm™, which is a topical diclofenac spray film formulation being developed to manage pain associated with osteoarthritis. For more information, please visit virpaxharma.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, as amended, including those relating to the Company's planned clinical trials, product development, clinical and regulatory timelines, market opportunity, competitive position, possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, potential growth opportunities and other statements that are predictive in nature. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which we operate and management's current beliefs and assumptions.
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