A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Brilacidin in Hospitalized Participants With COVID-19
Innovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc.n = 12022 Feb 2021 to 30 Jul 2021
COVID-19
PepBank has 17 brilacidin studies with results. 15 of them gave brilacidin, with 72 results, grouped by what the studies measured. In each group, results from studies in people come first. Data as of 2026-10-30.
Searches 72 results and 29 papers. Newer studies from Europe PMC
Identifiers, parent molecule, targets and development stage, from curated data.
Brilacidin is a synthetic non-peptide molecule modeled on host-defense peptides. Laboratory studies describe membrane effects and antimicrobial activity. These mechanisms do not establish clinical benefit.
No molecular target is recorded.
Structure from the identity record.
Draws the structure in your browser with RDKit (about 2.3 MB, loaded once).
SMILES fromPubChem CID 25023695(opens in a new tab)
C1CNC[C@@H]1OC2=C(C=C(C=C2NC(=O)C3=CC(=NC=N3)C(=O)NC4=CC(=CC(=C4O[C@@H]5CCNC5)NC(=O)CCCCN=C(N)N)C(F)(F)F)C(F)(F)F)NC(=O)CCCCN=C(N)NPeople first in each area, then animals, then lab cells. Counts are exact and come from studies that gave the peptide.
PepBank reads each paper before it shows the results. This search looks in Europe PMC for newer papers that PepBank has not read yet.
Counts are exact and come from studies that gave the peptide.
Studies by year
17 of 29 studies have results (59%), published 2014 to 2026. Top row: every study. Bottom row: studies with results about Brilacidin, by class. The rows use different scales.
Studies29 in all, 2014 to 2026
Studies with results17 in all, 2014 to 2026
Retracted studies are left out. A study with results in two classes counts in both.
AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.
Registered trials that test the peptide, with phase, status and dates. A dot marks trials with posted results.
5 trials match. Highest phase first. Data from ClinicalTrials.gov.
5 trials · 5 completed · 2 with posted results
Initial Treatment for Acute Bacterial Skin Infections (ABSSSI) Caused by Staphylococcus Aureus
NCT01211470Oct 2010 to Mar 2012
Efficacy and Safety Study of Brilacidin to Treat Serious Skin Infections
NCT02052388Feb 2014 to Oct 2014
A Study to Investigate the Use of Delayed Release Tablets for Colonic Delivery of Brilacidin in Healthy Volunteers
NCT042402236 Jan 2020 to 12 Feb 2020
A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Brilacidin in Hospitalized Participants With COVID-19
NCT0478489722 Feb 2021 to 30 Jul 2021
5 trials · 5 completed · 2 with posted results · source ClinicalTrials.gov (opens in a new tab)
Innovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc.n = 12022 Feb 2021 to 30 Jul 2021
COVID-19
Innovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc.n = 6114 Aug 2014 to 22 Nov 2017
Head and Neck Neoplasms · Mucositis
Cellceutix Corporationn = 215Feb 2014 to Oct 2014
Skin Infection · Bacterial Infection
PolyMedix, Inc.n = 215Oct 2010 to Mar 2012
Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin-structure Infection(ABSSSI) Due to Staphylococcus Aureus (MSSA) · (Susceptible or Methicillin Resistant)
Innovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc.n = 96 Jan 2020 to 12 Feb 2020
Healthy Volunteers
Studies on this peptide. Some have results. The others have none yet.
29 studies match. Retracted studies are left out.
Showing 25 of 29 studiesquery qry_1977a65b9a250d8573ac32aa
17 studies
In vitro (cells) · staphylococcus aureus · 2014
Mensa et al. 2014Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapycited by 147
PMID 24936592PMC4135847DOI 10.1128/aac.02955-14PUB-24936592
Animal study (in vivo) · rabbit · 2016
Kowalski et al. 2016Journal of ocular pharmacology and therapeutics : the official journal of the Association for Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeuticscited by 69
PMID 26501484PMC4742993DOI 10.1089/jop.2015.0098PUB-26501484
Animal study (in vivo) · mouse · 2023
Dos Reis et al. 2023Nature communicationscited by 58
PMID 37045836PMC10090755DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-37573-yPUB-37045836
In vitro (cells) · 2021
Bakovic et al. 2021Virusescited by 45
PMID 33572467PMC7916214DOI 10.3390/v13020271PUB-33572467
In vitro (cells) · 2022
Hu et al. 2022Journal of medical virologycited by 42
PMID 35080027PMC8930451DOI 10.1002/jmv.27616PUB-35080027
In vitro (cells) · 2022
Xu et al. 2022EC microbiologycited by 14
PMID 35695877PMC9186380PUB-35695877
Animal study (in vivo) · mouse · 2024
Diehl et al. 2024mBiocited by 14
PMID 38916308PMC11253610DOI 10.1128/mbio.01031-24PUB-38916308
Ex vivo tissue · neisseria gonorrhoeae · 2025
Abdelsattar et al. 2025PloS onecited by 10
PMID 40471977PMC12140270DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0325722PUB-40471977
In vitro (cells) · plasmodium falciparum · 2023
Agrawal et al. 2023ACS omegacited by 9
PMID 37867646PMC10586260DOI 10.1021/acsomega.3c05323PUB-37867646
In vitro (cells) · chikungunya virus · 2024
Castro et al. 2024Current microbiologycited by 8
PMID 39227496DOI 10.1007/s00284-024-03874-8PUB-39227496
In vitro (cells) · 2024
Larwood et al. 2024Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)cited by 6
PMID 38786134PMC11117233DOI 10.3390/antibiotics13050405PUB-38786134
Not a test of Brilacidin alone · 2024
Dos Reis et al. 2024Microbiology spectrumcited by 5
PMID 38980033PMC11302226DOI 10.1128/spectrum.00888-24PUB-38980033
In vitro (cells) · 2023
Anderson et al. 2023Microorganismscited by 3
PMID 38257881PMC10819233DOI 10.3390/microorganisms12010054PUB-38257881
Not a test of Brilacidin alone · 2024
Boonyalai et al. 2024Scientific reportscited by 1
PMID 39289446PMC11408719DOI 10.1038/s41598-024-72603-9PUB-39289446
In vitro (cells) · escherichia coli · 2025
Wilhelm et al. 2025ACS infectious diseases
PMID 40459286DOI 10.1021/acsinfecdis.5c00023PUB-40459286
In vitro (cells) · acinetobacter baumannii · 2025
Melo et al. 2025Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology]
PMID 41060575PMC12660538DOI 10.1007/s42770-025-01641-wPUB-41060575
In vitro (cells) · mouse · 2026
Bezerra et al. 2026Microbiology spectrum
PMID 42294727PMC13340292DOI 10.1128/spectrum.00138-26PUB-42294727
12 studies in all, 8 on this page
PubMed tag: Review · 2017
Scott et al. 2017Current topics in medicinal chemistrycited by 57
PMID 27411325DOI 10.2174/1568026616666160713130452PUB-27411325
PubMed tag: Preprint · 2020
Bakovic et al. 2020bioRxivcited by 2
DOI 10.1101/2020.10.29.352450PUB-92351842
PubMed tag: Preprint · 2021
AGRAWAL et al. 2021Research Squarecited by 1
DOI 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1099040/v2PUB-93024413
PubMed tag: none · 2026
Bergamo et al. 2026Journal of medicinal chemistry
PMID 42911731DOI 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6c01445PUB-42911731
PubMed tag: Preprint · 2024
Larwood et al. 2024Preprints.org
DOI 10.20944/preprints202402.1664.v1PUB-90330056
PubMed tag: Preprint · 2023
Agrawal et al. 2023Research Square
DOI 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2881060/v1PUB-93740696
PubMed tag: Preprint · 2022
Sahal et al. 2022Research Square
DOI 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1272462/v1PUB-94849357
PubMed tag: Preprint · 2022
Fernanda dos Reis et al. 2022bioRxiv
DOI 10.1101/2022.09.28.509882PUB-95159980
Page 1 of 1
Kowalski RP · Journal of ocular pharmacology and therapeutics : the official journal of the Association for Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics · 2016
Animal study (in vivo) · rabbit · 12 results
Dos Reis TF · Nature communications · 2023
Animal study (in vivo) · mouse · 7 results
Diehl C · mBio · 2024
Animal study (in vivo) · mouse · 8 results
Abdelsattar AS · PloS one · 2025
Ex vivo tissue · neisseria gonorrhoeae · 5 results
Mensa B · Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2014
In vitro (cells) · staphylococcus aureus · 5 results
Bakovic A · Viruses · 2021
In vitro (cells) · 4 results
Hu Y · Journal of medical virology · 2022
In vitro (cells) · 9 results
Xu C · EC microbiology · 2022
In vitro (cells) · 7 results
Agrawal P · ACS omega · 2023
In vitro (cells) · plasmodium falciparum · 4 results
Castro EF · Current microbiology · 2024
In vitro (cells) · chikungunya virus · 1 result
Larwood DJ · Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024
In vitro (cells) · 1 result
Anderson CA · Microorganisms · 2023
In vitro (cells) · 7 results
Bezerra BT · Microbiology spectrum · 2026
In vitro (cells) · mouse · 8 results
Melo ALF · Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] · 2025
In vitro (cells) · acinetobacter baumannii · 2 results
Wilhelm MJ · ACS infectious diseases · 2025
In vitro (cells) · escherichia coli · 3 results
Dos Reis TF · Microbiology spectrum · 2024
Not a test of Brilacidin alone · 5 results
Boonyalai N · Scientific reports · 2024
Not a test of Brilacidin alone · 2 results
Approval and sport status, and the safety outcomes reported in study results. Laws and labels change, so check the regulator for the current status.
| Jurisdiction | Body | Status | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | FDA | The reviewed sources establish investigational development, not US marketing approval. A UNII and Fast Track or QIDP designation do not establish approval. Current approval status remains unresolved. | 27 Oct 2026 | precision.fda.gov (opens in a new tab) |
| EU | EMA | No current EMA marketing authorization or national approval was established. Search results about permission to start trials do not establish marketing approval. | 27 Oct 2026 | ipharminc.com (opens in a new tab) |
| Sport | WADA | Status unknown The 2026 list does not name brilacidin. | 2026 List | wada-ama.org (opens in a new tab) |
4 safety results for Brilacidin.
No safety results from studies in people
In rabbits, Draize testing classified brilacidin 0.5% as minimally irritating.
Animal study (in vivo)rabbit
In human erythrocyte laboratory tests, brilacidin lacked hemolytic activity.
Ex vivo tissuehuman
In mammalian laboratory cells, brilacidin showed high tolerability.
In vitro (cells)
In murine macrophages, brilacidin showed low cytotoxicity.
In vitro (cells)mouse
The doses that these studies used. They are not recommendations.
0.5%Animal
0.6 to 12× MICLab
≤3× MICLab
PepBank is a research reference. Talk to a doctor before you use any peptide.
Data version, change history and code for this peptide.
curl -s https:// pepbank.io/ v1/ briefs/ brilacidinEvidence summary for Brilacidin: counts by class, key results with sources, notices, data version.
In PepBank now:147 peptides, 6 blends and 13 other compounds97,577 study results from 17,383 studies8,473 clinical trialsUpdated
Top outcomes
The 4 outcome groups with the most study results, by evidence class.
Data version 308560. Bar length is the number of results, not the size of an effect.
Evidence matrix
Study results by outcome and evidence class. Arrows show how the measured outcome moved, not whether the change is good.
| Outcome group | Human | Animal | Lab | Computer model | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infection and antimicrobial activityInfection | No results | Animal: 7 results from 3 studies: 2 increase, 4 decrease, 1 no significant change. Strongest design: Animal study (in vivo) | Lab: 27 results from 8 studies: 8 increase, 6 decrease, 13 not reported. Strongest design: In vitro (cells) | No results | 34 |
| Antiviral activityInfection | No results | No results | Lab: 26 results from 5 studies: 17 decrease, 1 no significant change, 2 mixed, 6 not reported. Strongest design: In vitro (cells) | No results | 26 |
| Receptor activity and mechanismInfection | No results | No results | Lab: 8 results from 2 studies: 5 increase, 1 decrease, 2 not reported. Strongest design: In vitro (cells) | No results | 8 |
| Adverse eventsWhole body | No results | Animal: 1 result from 1 study: 1 not reported. Strongest design: Animal study (in vivo) | Lab: 3 results from 2 studies: 3 not reported. Strongest design: Ex vivo tissue | No results | 4 |
4 outcome groups shown of 4 · 72 study results
Data version 308560. Shade grows with the number of results. Every cell shows the exact count.
Trials by phase
5 registered trials, grouped by phase and shown by status.
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, data version 308560. Status is the registry status.