Australia-based ENA Respiratory has received AUD 2.98 million (USD 1.9 million) from Biointelect Venturer to fund the first study of its INNA-051 antiviral nasal spray in patients with asthma, extending development of the toll-like receptor 2/6 (TLR2/6) agonist into a higher-risk respiratory population.
The funding will support ENA-A-04, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase Ib study evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of intranasal INNA-051 in adults with asthma. The trial is expected to begin in Australia in Q1 2027.
INNA-051 is a once-weekly dry-powder nasal therapy designed to prime innate antiviral defenses at the nasal mucosa before infection. By activating TLR2/6, the therapy is intended to stimulate Type I and III interferon responses independently of the infecting virus.
ENA is expanding the program into asthma based on evidence that antiviral signaling can be delayed in asthmatic airways, potentially allowing respiratory viruses to spread before an effective innate immune response develops. The company has reported preclinical findings showing that INNA-051 restored innate antiviral responses and reduced rhinovirus load in ex vivo bronchial epithelial cells from donors with moderate-to-severe asthma.
The compound is already being evaluated in the US Phase IIa POSITS community study (NCT07222670), which is assessing whether prophylactic dosing can reduce symptomatic viral respiratory infections. Part A was completed in May 2026, with Part B moving into the subsequent respiratory virus season.