ENA Respiratory has welcomed $2.98 million in funding from Biointelect Venturer to support its first Australian study of INNA-051 in adults with asthma, expanding the clinical program for a once-weekly nasal spray intended to strengthen the body’s early defences against common respiratory viruses.
The Melbourne-based company said the funding came from the Venturer’s inaugural investment round. The Venturer is a national incubator designed to transform early-stage infectious disease research into investable commercial ventures. ENA is one of six companies funded in the $10.48 million first round.
ENA will use the funding for a Phase Ib trial examining the safety, tolerability and biological activity of INNA-051 in people with asthma. The randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, known as ENA-A-04, is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
INNA-051 is a dry-powder nasal spray designed to work at the point where many respiratory viruses first enter the body. Rather than targeting a particular virus, the treatment is intended to prime innate antiviral defences in the nasal passages, potentially allowing the immune system to respond more quickly to infections such as influenza, RSV, rhinovirus and coronaviruses.
The approach is being developed for people at higher risk of complications from respiratory viral infections, including those with chronic respiratory conditions. For people with asthma, viral infections can trigger worsening symptoms, airway inflammation and potentially serious exacerbations.
ENA chief executive Christophe Demaison said the grant would allow the company to move into a patient group with a substantial unmet need.
“We are proud to have received this grant from Biointelect Venturer,” he said. “It will enable us to expand our clinical program in a high-risk patient population. Patients with asthma are at significant risk of complications from respiratory infections and this study will inform future development in this group and other at-risk populations such as those with other chronic respiratory conditions like COPD.”
Asthma has been associated with delayed innate antiviral responses, which can give viruses more opportunity to spread into the lower respiratory tract. That process can intensify inflammation and contribute to the deterioration in symptoms often seen after viral respiratory infections.
ENA said preclinical and safety pharmacology work suggests intranasal INNA-051 is not expected to worsen asthma. In laboratory studies involving bronchial epithelial cells from people with moderate-to-severe asthma, the treatment also showed potential to restore antiviral responses and reduce rhinovirus load.
The new asthma study comes as INNA-051 is also being evaluated in a Phase 2a community study in the United States. The POSITS study is examining whether once-weekly treatment for up to three months can reduce the incidence, duration, and severity of symptomatic respiratory infections among young adults living or working in crowded environments.
The company said the first stage of that trial was completed in May 2026, with the next part expected to begin dosing during the following North American respiratory virus season.
