Boston Herald AMR op-ed

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Co-founder, president and CEO of Venatorx Pharmaceuticals, Christopher J. Burns PhD, and co-founder and CEO of Spero Therapeutics, Ankit Mahadevia, have joined forces to publish a powerful opinion editorial in the Boston Herald.

Their article, ‘Pasteur Act can reinvigorate broken antibiotic market’, investigates how this legislation can work to prevent over-subscribing of antibiotics and incentivised development of novel antibiotics, during an escalating global public health crisis caused by drug-resistant infection.

A brief excerpt:

‘Researchers warn that without new antibiotics, drug-resistant infections could kill 10 million people annually by 2050. Currently, they kill 700,000 per year, worldwide, and contribute to an additional $4.6 billion in increased health care costs per year in the United States alone.’

It highlights the importance of continued R&D in this space – something Botanix is proud to be prioritising with our BTX 1801 development program.

Read the full article here.

Quarterly Activities Report and 4C Quarterly Cash Flow Report

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Botanix (ASX:BOT) has today published its Quarterly Activities Report and 4C Quarterly Cash Flow Report, for the period ended 30 June 2021.

Key highlights from this period include:

  • Successful launch of the BTX 1702 rosacea clinical study, currently under COVID related restrictions, with sites initiated in Australia and New Zealand start up pending
  • Encouraging results achieved from the BTX 1204A pilot study of canines with atopic dermatitis, with preparation underway to commence a proof of concept canine study 
  • Preparation for the BTX 1801 Phase 2b clinical study targeting the nasal decolonisation of Staph aureus in haemodialysis patients to prevent bloodstream infections is well progressed and expected to initiate in 4Q CY2021
  • Support for Botanix’s research on the antimicrobial potential of cannabidiol published by a leading South American academic group in BioRxiv
  • Actively reviewing a number of opportunities to leverage the unique properties of the Permetrex™ technology platform to deliver new dermatology drugs

Botanix remains in a strong financial position, holding a cash balance of A$21.56m at 30 June 2021, which gives us certainty and flexibility to maintain momentum with our core programs.

Read today’s ASX release here.

ABC News | Mask rules leads to rise in skin conditions

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Skin specialists have reported an increase in people seeking treatment for skin conditions as a result of mandatory mask wearing in Australia due to COVID-19. 

Dubbed  ‘maskne’, the condition includes acne, rosacea flare ups, perioral dermatitis, and folliculitis, all of which are aggravated by substances such as oil, bacteria, and dead skin cells becoming trapped under the mask.

Read the full article on the ABC website here.

Atopic Dermatitis Update + Presentation

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Botanix Pharmaceuticals has today updated the market with plans for its Atopic Dermatitis (AD) clinical program. This follows important recent learnings on drug dose and formulation design of synthetic CBD in dermatitis applications, together with positive data from a new pilot study conducted in canines with AD.

Canine atopic dermatitis is clinically and immunologically similar to human AD, providing an efficient approach to inform progression of further human studies too.

A recent pilot study of Botanix’s BTX 1204A product in canines (a new higher dose formulation of synthetic CBD for atopic dermatitis, leveraging PermetrexTM), demonstrated significant reductions on average in both the Enhanced Pruritus Score (ESP) and Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index (CADESI-04) scores over the 28-day treatment period.

Botanix is now advancing plans for a larger BTX 1204A proof of concept canine study in Australia, with goals to confirm and expand safety and efficacy data. Following this, the Company will pursue opportunities for partnering the product in animal health markets and progress towards a Phase 2b study for AD in humans in 1H 2022.

Read today’s ASX release and presentation here.

Investor Conference Call

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Botanix Pharmaceuticals President and Executive Chairman, Vince Ippolito, and Executive Director, Matt Callahan, hosted an investor conference call on Friday 7 May 2021.

You may listen to the audio file here:

Ticker News Interview

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Botanix Pharmaceutical’s (ASX:BOT) Executive Director, Matt Callahan, spoke with the Ticker News team yesterday to detail the next phase of our BTX 1801 antimicrobial program, which will target nasal decolonisation of Staph aureus in haemodialysis patients.

Investor Presentation + Conference Call

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Botanix Pharmaceuticals has today released an updated investor presentation and registration details for a conference call with our investors and supporters.

participants can pre-submit questions to be answered at the end of the call, when registering through the link below.

See the updated investor presentation here.

Conference call details:

Date: Friday, 7 May 2021

Time: 11:00am AEST

Registration details:

Participants are encouraged to pre-register for the conference call. Upon registration, participants will receive a unique pin granting fast-track access to the conference call and the opportunity to submit questions to our team.

Register now.

BTX 1801 Clinical Development Update

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Botanix Pharmaceuticals has today released a comprehensive update and presentation on imminent plans for the BTX 1801 antimicrobial platform program.

The next phase of development for BTX 1801 will focus on targeting the nasal decolonisation of Staph aureus in haemodialysis patients, which represents a significant market opportunity to prevent bloodstream infections in these patients.

Dialysis largely replicates the functions of the kidneys in patients with chronic kidney failure, with dialysis taking over the key functions of the kidneys (including filtering and removing waste materials from the body).  Haemodialysis patients undergoing ongoing dialysis regularly (e.g. three to five times per week), are at a high risk of bloodstream infections, due to their treatment requiring frequent use of catheters which in the first year are routinely central lines with direct access to the heart.

Our team is energised by the opportunity to develop a novel approach for removing sources of bacteria to prevent bloodstream infections in haemodialysis patients – which is desperately needed. Our prior work to examine the unique bactericidal mechanism of action of synthetic cannabidiol provides great confidence for this program too.

Read today’s ASX release and presentation here.

New AMR publication

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Botanix Pharmaceutical’s ground-breaking research on the antimicrobial potential of cannabidiol (CBD) has been published by a leading South American academic group in BioRxiv.

The BioRxiv article confirms our discovery that synthetic CBD can also kill a select group of Gram-negative bacteria, including the bacteria responsible for the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea and the increasingly challenging Clostridioides difficile (C.Diff) infections.

The BioRxiv Paper follows the publication of our research in Nature Research’s peer-reviewed journal Communications Biology in January 2021, which is continuing to drive conversation around the potential of CBD to address antimicrobial resistance, globally.

Read today’s ASX release.

Freethink Feature Article

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Senior writer for Freethink, B.David Zarley, has published a feature article titled ‘Can CBD be the Next Superbug Slayer?’

It examines the importance Botanix’s research into the antimicrobial potential of cannabidiol and includes comments from Dr Mark Blaskovich, Director of UQ’s IMB Centre for Superbug Solutions and collaborator on our BTX 1801 antimicrobial research.

Read the Freethink article here.