Salarius Pharmaceuticals Partners with Texas Biomed to Test AI-Designed Antiviral Against H5N1 Avian Flu
Key Insights
Salarius Pharmaceuticals (search)' subsidiary Decoy Therapeutics (search) has partnered with Texas Biomedical Research Institute (search) to conduct in vitro testing of peptide conjugate fusion inhibitors (search) against multiple influenza (search) strains, including H5N1 avian flu (search).
The company's IMP3ACT platform uses machine learning and AI tools to rapidly design antivirals, with influenza (search) inhibitors showing excellent in silico binding affinity comparable to their proven pan-coronavirus inhibitors.
Salarius aims to develop a single broad-spectrum antiviral therapeutic effective against influenza (search), COVID-19 (search), and RSV (search), targeting a market responsible for over 10 million medical visits annually in the U.S.
Salarius Pharmaceuticals (search)' subsidiary Decoy Therapeutics (search) has announced a strategic collaboration with Texas Biomedical Research Institute (search) to test AI-designed antiviral compounds against H5N1 avian flu (search) and other influenza (search) strains, marking a significant step in the development of next-generation pandemic preparedness tools.
The partnership will leverage Texas Biomed's world-class in vitro virology testing capabilities to evaluate Decoy's peptide conjugate fusion inhibitors (search) across multiple influenza (search) strains, including the concerning H5N1 avian flu (search) currently circulating in the United States. The compounds were designed using Salarius' proprietary IMP3ACT platform, which integrates machine learning and artificial intelligence tools for rapid drug development.
Promising Computational Results Drive Collaboration
Initial computational modeling has yielded encouraging results for the influenza (search) inhibitors. "We are highly optimistic our pan-influenza inhibitors will show in vitro activity in influenza regardless of strain due to in silico testing showing their strong binding affinity to the viral target," stated Barbara Hibner, Ph.D., Salarius Chief Scientific Officer. "In fact, the in silico free energy of our influenza inhibitors is at least as good as our pan-coronavirus inhibitors, which have demonstrated excellent in vitro and in vivo activity."
The IMP3ACT platform represents a paradigm shift in antiviral development, built around a rapid design-build-test-learn loop enabled by machine learning and rapid synthesis capabilities. By partnering with Texas Biomed, Salarius is adding critical testing capabilities to complement its computational design strengths.
Addressing Growing Pandemic Concerns
The collaboration comes at a critical time as H5N1 avian flu (search) strains continue to circulate in the U.S., raising concerns about potential pandemic threats. "Seasonal influenza (search) continues to be a global health concern, and the recent rise of H5N1 strains of avian flu currently circulating in the U.S. is heightening concern of another pandemic," explained Luis Martinez-Sobrido, Ph.D., a professor at Texas Biomed. "The rapid speed at which the avian virus can mutate when introduced to a new host increases its potential for human-to-human transmission."
This urgency underscores the need for broad-spectrum antivirals capable of addressing multiple viral strains and their mutations. According to the World Health Organization, influenza (search) represents a major global health threat with approximately one billion cases of seasonal influenza annually, including 3-5 million cases of severe illness contributing to 290,000-650,000 respiratory deaths. An influenza pandemic is predicted to cost $60 billion annually.
Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Strategy
Salarius is pursuing an ambitious goal of developing a single antiviral therapeutic effective against the three viral families responsible for the majority of serious seasonal respiratory infections. The addition of pan-influenza (search) inhibitors to the company's existing pan-coronavirus and pan-paramyxovirus inhibitors supports this comprehensive approach.
"Seasonal influenza (search)-like illness – from flu to RSV (search) and COVID – continue to be an enormous unmet medical need, responsible for more than 10 million medical visits every year in the U.S. alone," noted Rick Pierce, Salarius Chief Executive Officer. The market opportunity is substantial, as evidenced by Merck (search)'s recent $9.2 billion acquisition of Cidara Therapeutics, maker of the long-acting antiviral CD388 after Phase 2 trials.
Advanced Technology Platform
The IMP3ACT platform leverages peptide chemistry to design α-helical peptides using computational and machine learning tools. These peptides are transformed into multimeric conjugates by chemically linking copies to lipids or other membrane anchor moieties, enhancing their drug-like properties and extending pharmacokinetics.
The technology has already demonstrated success, producing peptide conjugates effective in vitro against multiple human coronaviruses, including all SARS-CoV-2 (search) major variants of concern, and against RSV (search) A, RSV B and hPIV3. In vivo efficacy has been shown against the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant.
Development Timeline and Broader Applications
During the next 12 months, Decoy expects to advance its lead asset, a pan-coronavirus antiviral (search), to filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the FDA. The company also plans to make progress on other programs including the novel broad-acting antiviral to treat flu, COVID-19 (search) and RSV (search), and a peptide drug conjugate targeting gastrointestinal cancers (search).
Beyond human health applications, Salarius intends to explore agricultural health applications, including treatment of egg-laying poultry flocks, potentially addressing the source of avian flu transmission.
The collaboration builds on Salarius' recent corporate developments, including the completion of an $8 million underwritten public offering and merger with Decoy Therapeutics (search) in November 2025. The combined company is now positioned to advance its pipeline of peptide conjugate therapeutics designed to address serious unmet medical needs across infectious diseases and cancer.