Ifenprodil: A Timeline and Highlight Reel April 19, 1996 Interactions between Ifenprodil and the NR2B Subunit of the N-Methyl-D-aspartate Receptor. "These studies provide evidence that ifenprodil and polyamines interact at discrete sites on the NR2B subunit."
https://www.jbc.org/content/271/16/9603.full.pdf
Oct 23, 2015 Ifenprodil vs ovarian cancer. "Treatment of A2780 tumor xenografts with ifenprodil (2.5 mg/kg body weight/day) significantly reduced tumor growth in nu/nu mice. Our findings suggest that both GluN1 and GluN2B proteins as membrane components could be readily available targets for the treatment of most ovarian cancers."
https://europepmc.org/article/pmc/pmc4627399
July 17, 2017 Ifenprodil vs pancreatic cancer. "Dizocilpine maleate (MK-801) and ifenprodil hemitartrate both significantly inhibited the growth of pancreatic tumor xenografts in nu/nu mice. These findings predict that, as for other solid tumors investigated by us, pancreatic cancer could be successfully treated, alone or in combination, with NMDA receptor antagonists or other receptor-inhibiting blocking agents."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5522667/
January 23, 2019 Ifenprodil vs small-cell lung cancer. "Ifenprodil at 2.5 mg/kg body weight given daily reduced the size of tumors over the course of treatment, and given on alternate days significantly reduced the growth threefold. When the lower dose was combined with topotecan, there was complete tumor growth suppression with clear synergy for smaller tumors (≤300 mm3)."
https://www.dovepress.com/small-cell-lung-cancer-growth-inhibition-synergism-between-nmda-recept-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-CPAA
February 25, 2019 Algernon Pharmaceuticals Expands Its Research Program to Include Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Because fibrosis is a major underlying condition for many serious diseases, and as a result of the success of several Algernon compounds previously demonstrating anti-fibrotic activity in CKD and NASH, the Company screened a number of its lead compounds for IPF.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/02/25/1741420/0/en/Algernon-Pharmaceuticals-Expands-Its-Research-Program-to-Include-Idiopathic-Pulmonary-Fibrosis.html
July 3, 2019 Ifenprodil vs Nintedanib and Pirfenidone. "We have now completed two studies from an independent laboratory, confirming that NP-120 is an effective anti-fibrotic agent for IPF."
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/07/03/1877782/0/en/Algernon-Pharmaceuticals-NP-120-Reduced-Fibrosis-in-an-Idiopathic-Pulmonary-Fibrosis-Study-by-56-Outperforming-USFDA-Approved-Treatments-Nintedanib-and-Pirfenidone.html
July 29, 2019 Potential First-in-Class Treatment. Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CSE: AGN) (FRANKFURT: AGW) (OTCB: BTHCF) (the “Company” or “Algernon”), a clinical stage pharmaceutical development company, is pleased to announce that NP-120, its lead compound in its idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) research program, is a drug called Ifenprodil
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/07/29/1892738/0/en/Algernon-Pharmaceuticals-Announces-Ifenprodil-NP-120-an-NDMA-Receptor-Antagonist-as-its-Lead-Drug-That-Reduced-Fibrosis-in-a-Recent-Idiopathic-Pulmonary-Fibrosis-Study-by-56.html
Dec 5, 2019 Ifenprodil vs Gefapixant. Unlike Gefapixant, Ifenprodil has no known taste disturbance, which is similar to Bellus Health’s Phase 2 asset BLU-5937. Note: Bellus Health Inc. has reported that BLU-5937 had comparable efficacy to Merck’s MK-7264 (Gefapixant) in a guinea pig cough inhibition study that they conducted.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/12/05/1956652/0/en/Algernon-Pharmaceuticals-NP-120-Ifenprodil-Outperforms-Merck-s-Phase-3-Drug-MK-7264-Gefapixant-in-an-Acute-Cough-Study-by-110.html
Dec 9, 2019 Algernon Pharmaceuticals Selects NP-120 (Ifenprodil) for its Lead Phase 2 Trial for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and Chronic Cough. The Company is planning to conduct the phase 2 clinical trial in Australia
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/12/09/1957730/0/en/Algernon-Pharmaceuticals-Selects-NP-120-Ifenprodil-for-its-Lead-Phase-2-Trial-for-Idiopathic-Pulmonary-Fibrosis-and-Chronic-Cough.html
Dec 10, 2019 Ifenprodil vs H5N1. "Our study revealed for the first time that ifenprodil is effective in avian influenza A H5N1 virus infection and lung injury."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6906739/
March 6, 2020 Ifenprodil vs COVID-19. Based on this study, published by the American Society of Microbiology in mSystems in the December 2019 issue, the Company believes that Ifenprodil has the potential to be a front-line treatment for the most severe cases of coronavirus, and may also reduce morbidity in patients.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/03/06/1996401/0/en/Algernon-Explores-the-Use-of-NP-120-Ifenprodil-as-a-Novel-Treatment-for-Coronavirus.html
April 29, 2020 Algernon Receives Clearance from Health Canada for Ifenprodil COVID-19 Phase 2b/3 Multinational Clinical Trial
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/04/29/2024542/0/en/Algernon-Receives-Clearance-from-Health-Canada-for-Ifenprodil-COVID-19-Phase-2b-3-Multinational-Clinical-Trial.html
May 6, 2020 Algernon Receives First Ethics Approval for Phase 2 Ifenprodil IPF and Chronic Cough Human Study in Australia
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/05/06/2028431/0/en/Algernon-Receives-First-Ethics-Approval-for-Phase-2-Ifenprodil-IPF-and-Chronic-Cough-Human-Study-in-Australia.html
June 1, 2020 UT Dallas Research Study Identifying Ifenprodil as a Possible COVID-19 Treatment. "We identified 144 gene products with characterized antagonists, inhibitors, blockers or modulators in this curated database (a selection of these are shown in Table 4, full dataset in Supplementary Table 8). This database highlights the potential for targeting cytokines and chemokines, such as CCL2, the CCR2 receptor and/or the EGFR receptor in COVID-19." Ifenprodil = GRIN2B on Table 4
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088915912030670X?via%3Dihub#t0020
June 4, 2020 Algernon Receives U.S. FDA Clearance for Multinational Phase 2b/3 Human Study to Evaluate Ifenprodil as a Potential Therapeutic for COVID-19
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/06/04/2043925/0/en/Algernon-Receives-U-S-FDA-Clearance-for-Multinational-Phase-2b-3-Human-Study-to-Evaluate-Ifenprodil-as-a-Potential-Therapeutic-for-COVID-19.html
June 25, 2020 Algernon Receives Ethics Approval for U.S. Sites for 2b/3 Human Study of Ifenprodil for COVID-19
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/06/25/2053365/0/en/Algernon-Receives-Ethics-Approval-for-U-S-Sites-for-2b-3-Human-Study-of-Ifenprodil-for-COVID-19.html
June 25, 2020 UT Dallas Researchers Examine How COVID-19 Virus May Increase Lung Inflammation. "There’s a striking increase in NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors in immune cells in the lungs that is much different than you see in other diseases,” Price said. “It suggests that maybe the neurons there can communicate with the immune cells via glutamate, the neurotransmitter that NMDA receptors respond to. Interrupting this interaction might lessen the damaging effect." The involvement of NMDA receptors is important because drugs already exist to block them.
https://www.utdallas.edu/news/health-medicine/nerve-cells-lungs-covid-19-2020/
July 7, 2020 Algernon Begins Screening Patients for Phase 2 Ifenprodil IPF and Chronic Cough Human Study in Australia
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/07/07/2058544/0/en/Algernon-Begins-Screening-Patients-for-Phase-2-Ifenprodil-IPF-and-Chronic-Cough-Human-Study-in-Australia.html
July 16, 2020 Algernon Announces First U.S. Clinical Trial Site in Florida for Phase 2b/3 Human Study of Ifenprodil for COVID-19
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/07/16/2063293/0/en/Algernon-Announces-First-U-S-Clinical-Trial-Site-in-Florida-for-Phase-2b-3-Human-Study-of-Ifenprodil-for-COVID-19.html
July 21, 2020 Algernon Highlights UT Dallas Research Study Identifying Ifenprodil as a Possible COVID-19 Treatment. In a recent conversation with the Company, Dr. Theodore Price said, “We were really taken aback at the upregulation of NMDA receptors in severe COVID-19 patients. We were even more surprised, when we noted that it was an immune based signal and not neuronal. Based on our findings, we think there is significant opportunity in disrupting NMDA receptor signalling in the lung for reversing pathology in COVID.”
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/07/21/2064831/0/en/Algernon-Highlights-UT-Dallas-Research-Study-Identifying-Ifenprodil-as-a-Possible-COVID-19-Treatment.html
Current Clinical Trials
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=algernon&draw=1&rank=1#rowId0