Virpax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRPX) (“Virpax” or the “Company”), a company specializing in developing non-addictive products for pain management, post-traumatic stress disorder, central nervous system (CNS) disorders and anti-viral barrier indications, today announced results from a minipig Dose Range Finding (“DRF”) study for Probudur. Probudur is the company’s long-acting liposomal bupivacaine formulation injected at a wound site to provide both immediate and extended pain relief.
The DRF study was conducted to evaluate the tolerance of Probudur in an incisional wound healing model in minipigs. Probudur was injected locally into the tissue surrounding the incision area. All of the minipigs demonstrated positive tolerance to Probudur and no adverse effects were noted. The development program for Probudur continues to support the Company’s belief that Probudur has the potential to provide both immediate and sustained pain relief at the incisional area.
“These positive study results in our pharmacokinetics and safety studies for Probudur and continue to demonstrate both immediate relief as well as sustained relief at the wound site,” stated Jatinder Dhaliwal, Chief Executive Officer of Virpax. “The completion of these studies brings us another step closer to filing our Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for Probudur.”
Probudur is being developed to achieve the overall goal of safe and effective pain control during the perioperative period and significantly reduce or eliminate the need for opioids after surgery in approved indications. Probudur is a local anesthetic that binds to the sodium channel, preventing pain signals from reaching the brain. In preclinical studies, Probudur has shown long duration pain control for at least 96 hours, with a rat incisional model demonstrating analgesia for up to five days and in vitro studies demonstrating a slow release of bupivacaine that lasted for up to six days.
