Fort Worth's TFF Pharmaceuticals Partners to Develop Dry Powder-Inhaled mRNA Treatment for Flu and COVID

Fort Worth’s TFF Pharmaceuticals Partners to Develop Dry Powder-Inhaled mRNA Treatment for Flu and COVID

Respiratory illnesses like influenza and COVID can change rapidly, requiring the nimble development and delivery of antiviral drugs to combat them. TFF is now partnering with Atlanta's Emory University and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to test the feasibility of converting an Emory-developed mRNA antiviral into a dry powder formulation that needs no cold-chain storage.

Fort Worth-based TFF Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TFFP)—a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative drug products based on its patented Thin Film Freezing tech platform—has announced a new partnership with Emory University and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

Under the partnership, TFF Pharmaceuticals said it will test the feasibility of converting Emory’s mRNA-based Cas13a antiviral against influenza A and B and SARS-CoV-2 into a dry powder formulation. The goal: providing more precise inhalational delivery, improved stability, and widespread distribution without the need for cold-chain storage.

The work is supported with federal funds from BARDA, part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

TFF said the contract supports early-stage therapeutic platform development under BARDA’s Flexible and Strategic Therapeutics (FASTx) program. FASTx aims to transform antiviral therapy by developing rapidly adaptable platforms to combat viral threats through the use of next-gen technology.

Combatting respiratory viruses that change rapidly

“Viruses pose a significant public health challenge through their ability to evolve rapidly, which renders traditional antiviral therapies ineffective and risks widespread outbreaks in case of emerging strains,” TFF CEO Dr. Harlan Weisman said in a statement. “Our partnership with Emory University and BARDA is an important opportunity to deploy our TFF technology to combat rapidly changing respiratory viruses, including influenza and COVID.”

“Inhalational delivery of antiviral therapy against respiratory viruses is poised to drive efficacy by providing the drug where the virus replicates while improved stability and room temperature storage enhance practicality for widespread distribution,” Weisman added.

A ‘new approach’ to meet an ‘unmet need’

Philip J. Santangelo, a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech School of Engineering and Emory University School of Medicine, said TFF’s novel dry powder formulation “provides an important new approach to address the unmet need for precise delivery of novel therapeutics against potentially deadly respiratory viral infections.”

“With ever-changing influenza and COVID strains emerging, flexibility of delivery without the need for cold chain storage and distribution is all the more important,” Santangelo added in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with the TFF team to develop new approaches to treat these conditions faster and more efficiently,”

TFF Pharmaceuticals said its proprietary Thin Film Freezing (TFF) technology allows for the transformation of both existing compounds and new chemical entities into dry powder formulations exhibiting unique characteristics and benefits. The TFF process is a “particle engineering process,” the company added, “designed to generate dry powder particles with advantageous properties for inhalation, as well as parenteral, nasal, oral, topical and ocular routes of administration.”