Sunshine Biopharma Announces Novel Inhibitor for Sars Coronavirus

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / December 9, 2024 / Sunshine Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFM) (the "Company"), a pharmaceutical company offering and researching life-saving medicines in a variety of therapeutic areas including oncology and antivirals today announced that it has developed an orally active protease inhibitor with dose-dependent antiviral activity in mice infected with SARS Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

There are still unmet medical needs for agents to combat SARS-CoV-2 infections. SARS-CoV-2 is the etiologic agent of COVID-19 and one of three types of Coronavirus that cause Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). SARS-CoV-2 undergoes mutation at a rapid rate, which leads to the continuous emergence of variants of concern (VOC) posing a significant threat to public health. In addition, certain populations, such as immunocompromised patients who are susceptible to severe and prolonged infections, may not respond well to current therapies or vaccines. For high-risk patients, blocking early infection at home may prevent rapid disease progression and reduce hospitalization.

PLpro is an alternative therapeutic target for developing antiviral compounds against proteolytic processing activity of SARS-CoV-2. PLpro is a virus encoded protease essential for viral replication and is responsible for suppression of the human immune system following infection, leading to a more severe disease outcome. In August 2024, Sunshine Biopharma published initial research results on its PLpro inhibitors library in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (J. Med. Chem. 2024, 67, 13681−13702).

Sunshine Biopharma's current lead compound was recently found to be active at sub-micromolar concentrations against PLpro and exhibited antiviral activity in SRAS-CoV-2 infected cells as well as in cells infected with several different VOC. In addition, the Company's lead compound had favorable pharmacokinetics properties in rodent species and exhibited preferred drug accumulation in the lungs over plasma. The compound was found to be orally active in a K18-human-ACE2 transgenic mouse model and to significantly reduce virus load in the lungs of infected animals in a dose-dependent manner without gross toxicities. This research is being carried out in collaboration with the University of Arizona.

"We are delighted by the tremendous progress we have made in our SBFM-PL4 project," said Dr. Steve Slilaty, CEO of Sunshine Biopharma. "We are currently working on the process chemistry for scale-up and expect to soon enter the next stage of development, including clinical trials."

About Sunshine Biopharma Inc.

Sunshine Biopharma currently has 65 generic prescription drugs on the market in Canada and 29 additional drugs scheduled to be launched in 2025. Among the new drugs to be launched is NIOPEG®, a biosimilar of NEULASTA®. Like NEULASTA®, NIOPEG® is a long-acting form of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (filgrastim). It is indicated to decrease the incidence of infection in patients with non-myeloid malignancies receiving anti-neoplastic therapy.

In addition, Sunshine Biopharma is conducting a proprietary drug development program which is comprised of (i) K1.1 mRNA, an mRNA-Lipid Nanoparticle targeted for liver cancer, and (ii) SBFM-PL4, a small molecule inhibitor of PLpro protease for treatment of SARS Coronavirus infections. For more information, please visit: www.sunshinebiopharma.com.

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Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions of Sunshine Biopharma Inc. (the "Company") that involve risks as well as uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected. These statements appear in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, including statements related to the Company's drug development activities, financial performance, and future growth. These risks and uncertainties are further described in filings and reports by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the SEC. Reference is hereby made to cautionary statements and risk factors set forth in the Company's most recent SEC filings.

For Additional Information:

Sunshine Biopharma Contact:
Camille Sebaaly, CFO
Direct Line: 514-814-0464
camille.sebaaly@sunshinebiopharma.com

SOURCE: Sunshine Biopharma, Inc.