BetterLife Pharma Inc., an emerging biotechnology company, announced that Dr. Eleanor Fish will continue to play a key role as part of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board after having been appointed, in recognition of her expertise in infectious diseases, to the Canadian Government’s COVID-19 Task Force.
Vancouver, Sept. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BetterLife Pharma Inc. (“BetterLife” or the “Company”) (CSE: BETR / OTCQB: BETRF / FRA: NPAT), an emerging biotechnology company, today announced that Dr. Eleanor Fish will continue to play a key role as part of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board after having been appointed, in recognition of her expertise in infectious diseases, to the Canadian Government’s COVID-19 Task Force.
Dr. Fish is a world-renowned and accomplished scientist with a focus on interferon activity against a variety of viruses including SARS-CoV-2, SARS, Ebola and Zika. Dr. Fish will continue to guide the Company’s current and future clinical programs including its research and development strategy for AP-003, a patent-pending interferon a2b (IFNa2b) inhalation formulation as a possible therapeutic against COVID-19.
She is the principle author of a recent paper published on Friday May 15, 2020 in Frontiers of Immunology titled “Interferon-α2b Treatment for COVID-19". In that study, the authors examined the course of disease in a cohort of 77 individuals with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Wuhan, China, between January 16 and February 20, 2020.
To the knowledge of the authors, the findings presented in the study were the first to suggest therapeutic efficacy of IFN-a2b against COVID-19 disease.
Dr. Ahmad Doroudian, CEO of BetterLife, said “We are excited to have Dr. Eleanor Fish on our Scientific Advisory Board. She brings valuable scientific and clinical experience in the study of interferon activity against COVID-19 as we prepare to begin Phase II clinical trials for AP-003, and eventually market that product after demonstrating its efficacy and safety.”
Upon initially joining the Advisory Board of BetterLife, Dr. Fish had commented “Based on the results of our preliminary study in Wuhan, China, and emerging data from around the globe, I would argue that the 2 leading candidates for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 are IFN-alpha2b and remdesivir.”
Dr. Fish is a Professor, Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Associate Chair, International Initiatives & Collaborations, University of Toronto and Emerita Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network. She received a B.Sc. from the University of Manchester, U.K., an M.Phil. from King’s College, University of London, U.K. and a Ph.D. from the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto, Canada. Dr. Fish is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiologists and a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences. Dr. Fish has received many international awards acknowledging her scientific achievements and has published more than 170 peer-reviewed scientific papers in international journals.
Cautionary Note
The Company is not making any express or implied claims that Altum’s AP-003 or any other product has the ability to eliminate, cure or contain the COVID-19 (or SARS-2 Coronavirus) at this time.
About BetterLife Pharma Inc.
BetterLife Pharma Inc. is an emerging biotechnology company engaged in the development and commercialization of therapeutic pharmaceuticals as well as drug delivery platform technologies. BetterLife is refining and developing drug candidates from a broad set of complementary interferon-based technologies which have the potential to engage the immune system to fight virus infections, such as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and human papillomavirus (HPV), and/or to directly inhibit tumours to treat specific types of cancer.
For further information please visit www.blifetherapeutics.com.
Contact
Ahmad Doroudian, Chief Executive Officer
Email: Ahmad.Doroudian@blifepharma.com
Phone: 604-221-0595
Dost Mustaq, BDA International Investor Relations Contact
Email: ir@blifepharma.com
Phone: 646-679-4321
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