Kinarus Therapeutics Holding AG
Kinarus Therapeutics to host KOL event on Monday, June 27, to discuss therapies in wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration and potential advantages of KIN001

MEDIA RELEASE

Basel, Switzerland, 24 June 2022. Kinarus Therapeutics Holding AG (SIX: KNRS) (“Kinarus”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of viral, respiratory, and ophthalmic diseases, announced today that it will host a key opinion leader (KOL) event for investors in Zurich on Monday, June 27, starting at 12:15 pm CET.

Kinarus has received regulatory authorization to initiate Phase 2 testing of KIN001 to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) as communicated previously on May 10, 2022. KIN001 has been shown to reduce pathological blood vessel growth (neovascularization) in the choroid of the eye in preclinical models of wAMD.

At the live webcast event, Prof. Christian Prünte, MD, an internationally recognized clinical expert focused on wAMD and ocular diseases, will discuss this leading cause of blindness in older people and current treatment strategies, putting into context the differentiation of Kinarus’ KIN001 therapeutic candidate. Kinarus’ CEO Alexander Bausch will present the KIN001 development plans in wAMD and other indications. Both speakers will be available to respond to questions from the live audience during the one-hour event. Investors can request to attend the KOL event in person or participate in the live video webcast of the KOL event. 

Prof. Christian Prünte, MD, is Medical Director of the Eye Clinic at University Hospital Basel and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at Kantonsspital Baselland in Liestal. He also is Head Clinical Trial Center Platform at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel.

KIN001 is a proprietary patented combination of pamapimod, a highly selective investigational small molecule inhibitor of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), and pioglitazone, a marketed drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Several p38 MAPK inhibitors were studied by the pharmaceutical industry and largely abandoned after promising but only transient efficacy was observed. Kinarus discovered through its own research that the combination of pamapimod with pioglitazone (i.e., KIN001) produced synergistic efficacy and increased the durability of pamapimod’s effects. KIN001 enjoys broad patent protection in the US, EU, China, and other countries through at least 2037.

In addition to the wAMD study, KIN001 is currently under evaluation in “KINETIC”, a randomized placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, which will report interim Phase 2 data in late Q3 2022. A second Phase 2 study in ambulatory COVID-19 patients, “KINFAST”, is expected to start this summer. Kinarus recently reported KIN001’s anti-viral efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern, supporting its potential benefit in the treatment of COVID-19. Kinarus is also preparing regulatory submissions to start a Phase 2 study of KIN001 to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). 

Kinarus Therapeutics Holding AG (www.kinarus.com), was founded in 2017 by experienced pharmaceutical executives in Basel, Switzerland. The Kinarus team utilizes its knowledge and drug development competencies to in-license and develop late-stage clinical assets in which they have identified an increased probability of clinical and regulatory success with a rapid path to market. Pamapimod was the first drug Kinarus founders acquired. Kinarus possesses the exclusive worldwide rights to develop pamapimod in any indication.

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