ContraVir Pharmaceuticals awarded grant from NRC to advance CRV431

ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of targeted antiviral therapies announced that the company was awarded a $297,875 CAD research grant from the National Research Council in Canada through the Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP).

Proceeds from the grant will fund a substantial portion of personnel expenses, including the hiring of additional laboratory staff, which is expected to advance preclinical development of ContraVir’s potent cyclophilin inhibitor CRV431 for the Treatment of Hepatitis B (HBV).

“We are very grateful to NRC-IRAP for this generous contribution to our CRV431 program in hepatitis B,” said Robert Foster, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of ContraVir. “The fact that we can now expand the team dedicated to advancing this promising new molecule will have a positive impact on our ability to gain critical insights into its mechanism of action and explore new combination regimens capable of potentially eradicating HBV.”

“We’re proud of our team for continuing to leverage every available opportunity to advance development of our antiviral drug candidates,” said James Sapirstein, Chief Executive Officer of ContraVir. “Determining the specific molecules and processes inhibited by CRV431, such as the exciting HBV X pathway, will help us further validate this compound and drive potential interest among commercial development partners working toward curative anti-HBV combination therapies.”

About ContraVir Pharmaceuticals
ContraVir is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of targeted antiviral therapies with a specific focus on developing a potentially curative therapy for hepatitis B virus (HBV). The Company is developing two novel anti-HBV compounds with complementary mechanisms of action: Tenofovir Exalidex™ (formerly CMX157), a highly potent analog of the successful antiviral drug tenofovir currently in Phase 2a, which has demonstrated the potential for low, once a day dosing compared to Viread® and decreased systemic exposure, thereby potentially reducing renal and bone side effects; and CRV431, a next generation cyclophilin inhibitor with a unique structure that increases its potency and selective index against HBV. ContraVir is also developing Valnivudine ™ (formerly FV-100), an orally available nucleoside analogue prodrug for the treatment of herpes zoster, or shingles, in a Phase 3 clinical trial. In addition to direct antiviral activity, Valnivudine™ has demonstrated the potential to reduce the incidence of debilitating shingles-associated pain known as post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) in a Phase 2 clinical study. For more information visit www.contravir.com

For further information, please contact:

Sharen Pyatetskaya 
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(732) 902-4028

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