ATLANTA, Sept. 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biota Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:BOTA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of products to prevent and treat serious and potentially life-threatening viral respiratory infectious diseases, announced today that it will present a poster describing preclinical data on BTA-C585, the Company’s oral fusion inhibitor in development for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus infections (RSV), at the 54th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) Meeting in Washington, DC.
The poster (F-1576) entitled “Preclinical Characterization of an Orally Bioavailable Fusion Inhibitor, BTA-C585, for the Treatment of RSV Infection” will be presented during the session “Miscellaneous Agents Including Antiviral and Antiparasitic Agents” on September 8, 2014 from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm EDT. The poster will be uploaded to the Biota website upon completion of the sessions.
About Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
RSV, a member of the Paramyxoviridae family of viruses, is a major cause of acute upper and lower respiratory tract infections in infants, young children, and adults. Datamonitor estimates that approximately 18 million people are infected each year with RSV in the seven major markets, including over nine million children under the age of four, five and a half million elderly adults, and three million adults with underlying disease. Approximately one million of these individuals become hospitalized for their RSV infection. These infections are particularly problematic in infants, as in a given year, approximately 90,000 infants are hospitalized with RSV infection in the U.S. RSV infections are also responsible for 40 to 50% of hospitalizations for pediatric bronchiolitis and 25% of hospitalizations for pediatric pneumonia. In addition to infants, elderly patients with cardiac or pulmonary conditions and adults that have received a bone marrow transplant are at increased risk for severe RSV infection. There are no direct antiviral products approved for the treatment of RSV-infected patients and therefore the current standard of care is limited to only supportive therapy.
About Biota
Biota Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of products to prevent and treat serious and potentially life-threatening viral respiratory infectious diseases. The Company currently has two Phase 2 clinical-stage product candidates: laninamivir octanoate, which the Company is developing for the treatment of influenza A and B infections; and vapendavir, a potent, oral broad spectrum capsid inhibitor of enteroviruses, including human rhinovirus and EV-71, which is being developed to treat patients with underlying respiratory illnesses, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In addition to these clinical development programs, the Company also has a late-stage preclinical program focused on developing oral antivirals for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus infections. For additional information about the Company, please visit www.biotapharma.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Any statements that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Various important factors could cause actual results, performance, events or achievements to materially differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including cautionary statements contained elsewhere in this press release and in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2013, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on September 27, 2013 and its Form 10-Q’s as filed with the SEC on November 12, 2013, February 10, 2014 and May 12, 2014.
There may be events in the future that the Company is unable to predict, or over which it has no control, and the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may change in the future. The Company may not update these forward-looking statements more frequently than quarterly unless it has an obligation under U.S. Federal securities laws to do so.
Biota is a registered trademark of Biota Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Dr. Joseph Patti Executive Vice-President Corporate Development & Strategy (678) 221-3352 j.patti@biotapharma.com Lee M. Stern The Trout Group (646) 378-2922 lstern@troutgroup.com
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