ENA Respiratory Receives USPTO Notice of Allowance for Two Patents Covering TLR2 Agonists and Rhinovirus-Mediated COPD Exacerbations

MELBOURNE, Australia, June 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ENA Respiratory, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing innate immune modulators for the prevention of complications associated with respiratory viral infections in at-risk populations, announces today that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for two patent applications, notably a composition-of-matter patent and method-of-use for its Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) therapies.

A composition-of-matter patent (US 17/622,451, "A series of TLR2 agonist compounds") and
A method-of-use patent for the treatment of rhinovirus-mediated exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (US 16/495,829, "Methods of treating rhinovirus-mediated exacerbations of COPD through TLR2 agonist therapy").

Rhinovirus is the most commonly identified viral trigger of Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (AECOPD), the primary driver of COPD morbidity and mortality, with respiratory viral infections associated with up to 64% of exacerbation events and rhinovirus accounting for the majority of virus-positive cases.¹˒² Despite this, no licensed vaccine or antiviral against rhinovirus exists. In the United States, COPD accounts for approximately 854,000 emergency department visits, over 335,000 hospitalisations and around 142,000 deaths annually.³

This USPTO allowance further strengthens ENA Respiratory’s IP portfolio for INNA-051 and TLR agonists, bringing the total to 55 granted patents and allowed applications across major global markets, including the US, Europe, the United Kingdom, Japan and China. The portfolio covers seven distinct patent families, with claims directed to the composition of matter for INNA-051 and various backup molecules, formulations and a method of use protection, as part of a comprehensive lifecycle management strategy. ENA Respiratory has an additional 39 pending applications in various jurisdictions.

ENA Respiratory’s CEO, Christophe Demaison, PhD said: “These allowances further strengthen a portfolio that already provides broad protection for our INNA-051 program with potential exclusivity for INNA-051 out to at least 2042 and likely beyond. US 17/622,451 protects the composition of matter of our TLR2 agonist platform, and US 16/495,829 secures targeted method-of-use protection for INNA-051 as a preventive treatment for rhinovirus-mediated COPD exacerbations — a population facing enormous unmet need with no approved antiviral or vaccine. With our Phase IIa community clinical study progressing well in the USA, these new allowances reinforce our confidence in the future global commercial value of INNA-051 as we advance through clinical development.”

The ongoing Phase II ‘POSITS’ study (NCT07222670) is evaluating the safety, tolerability and efficacy of a once-weekly, dry powder nasal spray in up to three months’ treatment with INNA-051 and assessing its impact on the incidence, duration and severity of symptomatic infections caused by common respiratory viruses, including influenza, RSV, rhinovirus, and coronaviruses in young adult participants at risk of illness due to living or working in crowded environments.

REFERENCES: ¹ Seemungal et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2001;164(9):1618–23. ² Wilkinson et al. Thorax. 2017;72:919–27. ³ CDC, National Centre for Health Statistics. FastStats: COPD. Accessed June 2026.

About ENA Respiratory

ENA Respiratory is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company tackling respiratory viral infections through the development of host defence enhancers which locally prime and boost the body’s natural first line of defence against invading pathogens. Being virus-agnostic, ENA’s approach offers a solution to protect against common and emerging respiratory viruses for which vaccines or direct-acting antivirals have limitations or do not exist.

The company’s lead product, INNA-051, is being developed as a convenient, once-a-week nasal dry powder product to reduce the impact of viral respiratory infections and prevent severe complications in at-risk populations, including the elderly, those with an underlying medical condition (including chronic lung conditions, diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease) and individuals with occupational risk (e.g. first responders, military or essential services personnel).

INNA-051 is a potent agonist of toll-like receptor 2/6 (TLR2/6) which plays a key role in recognising pathogens and potentiating innate immune responses. With a safety profile supporting seasonal prophylaxis use, it has demonstrated accelerated virus clearance and stimulation of antiviral host defences, including IFN Type I & III responses, in a Phase IIa proof-of-principle study using a human influenza-challenge model.

Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with operations in the USA, ENA’s Investors include Brandon Capital, Flu Lab, the Gates Foundation, the Minderoo Foundation, Stoic Venture Capital and Uniseed. The Company is partnered with the US COPD Foundation to support patient-focused clinical development of INNA-051 in COPD and has been awarded contracts from the U.S. Government. It is an alumni member of BLUE KNIGHT™, a joint initiative between Johnson & Johnson Innovation and BARDA designed to accelerate novel potential solutions for future pandemics.

For more information, please visit https://enarespiratory.com

For further information, please contact:

Media – Australia

Ruth Heenan, E: rheenan@bcpvc.com M: +61 (0)416 565 332

Media – International

Charles Consultants

Sue Charles, E: Sue.charles@charles-consultants.com M: +44 (0)7968 726585

Chris Gardner, E: Chris@CGComms.onmicrosoft.com M: +44 (0)7956 031077

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