PharmaTher's Sairiyo Therapeutics to Explore PD-001, Its Patented Reformulated Cepharanthine, for Hantavirus

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Independent research identified cepharanthine as a potential Hantavirus entry inhibitor, supporting further evaluation of Sairiyo's patented, orally bioavailable PD-001 cepharanthine formulation for Hantavirus Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 13, 2026) - PharmaTher Holdings Ltd. (CSE: PHRM) (OTCQB: PHRRF) ("PharmaTher" or the "Company"), a specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced that Sairiyo Therapeutics Inc. ("Sairiyo"), a company 49% owned by PharmaTher and 51% owned by PharmaDrug Inc. (CSE: PHRX) (OTC Pink: LMLLF), is pursuing its strategic plans to focus on the clinical development of its patented enteric-coated oral Cepharanthine ("PD-001") as a potential therapeutic candidate for Hantavirus ("HTNV"). Independent published research has identified cepharanthine as a potential Hantavirus entry inhibitor. In the study titled Screening and identification of HTNVpv entry inhibitors with high-throughput pseudovirus-based chemiluminescence,1 researchers developed a high-throughput screening method using Hantaan virus pseudovirus ("HTNVpv") and evaluated a library of 1,813 approved drugs and 556 small-molecule compounds. The study identified six compounds with anti-HTNVpv activity in the low-micromolar range, including cepharanthine. Among the selected compounds, cepharanthine not only demonstrated in vitro anti-HTNVpv activity but also inhibited HTNVpv-fluc infection in Balb/c mice. In that mouse model, cepharanthine inhibited Hantavirus pseudovirus infection 5 hours after infection by approximately 94% at 180 mg/kg/day, 93% at 90 mg/kg/day, and 92% at 45 mg/kg/day, with statistical significance reported at P < 0.01. The researchers also reported that time-of-addition analysis suggested cepharanthine may act during the viral entry and membrane fusion phases, which are important early steps in the hantavirus infection cycle. The authors concluded that cepharanthine may represent a candidate for further evaluation in hantavirus-related diseases, including HFRS and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. Hantaan virus is an Old World hantavirus associated with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome ("HFRS"), a potentially severe disease affecting the kidneys and blood vessels. Hantaviruses remain a global public health concern because they are rodent-borne, can cause seve...

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