Botanix Pharmaceuticals Limited announced the publication of research data from its antimicrobial platform in Nature Research's peer-reviewed journal, Communications Biology. The research article entitled "The antimicrobial potential of cannabidiol" has been released via open access. The lead author is Dr Mark Blaskovich, Director of the University of Queensland's Centre for Superbug Solutions in the Institute for Molecular Science and Botanix Directors Matt Callahan and Dr Michael Thurn are co-authors. The research represents the culmination of research collaborations involving leading antimicrobial researchers across the world and all research data generated is fully-owned by Botanix and is the subject of several patent applications. The research article provides detailed descriptions of the antimicrobial activity of cannabidiol, some of which has recently been released by the Company 2 and separately presented by Dr Mark Blaskovich at international antimicrobial congresses on the Company's behalf. Importantly, the research article details for the first-time that cannabidiol can selectively kill a subset of Gram-negative bacteria that includes the `urgent threat' pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae which causes gonorrhea, as well as the bacteria that cause meningitis and legionnaires disease. N. gonorrhoeae for example, is a key pathogen on both World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists and is responsible for sexually transmitted gonorrhea, which is the second most commonly reported notifiable disease in the United States, with almost 1 million new infections each year in the US alone (~550k drug-resistant), and an estimated 78m cases globally. The article also describes Botanix's foundational work for generating novel synthetic analogs of cannabinoids and their tested antimicrobial activity. The results illustrate the potential to advance these analogs as a much-needed new class of antimicrobials to fight the growing global threat of resistance to antibiotics. Notably, design variations tested by Botanix, show that there is potential to develop targeting agents that are not only selective for particular target Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, but also spare the natural microbiome by not killing beneficial bacteria on the skin, in the digestive tract or throughout the body. This could potentially provide a significant advantage to novel synthetic cannabinoids over other classes of antimicrobial compounds currently approved or in development. BTX 1801 Phase 2a antimicrobial study is completed and awaiting data Botanix is also pleased to confirm that the Company's BTX 1801 antimicrobial clinical study is completed and on track to announce data in early first Quarter of calendar year 2021. The study aims to test the ability of the nasally applied BTX 1801 ointment to eradicate Staphylococcus aureus (Staph) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from the nose of individuals known to carry these bacteria in their nasal cavity. Nasal "carriage" of Staph and/or MRSA greatly increases the risks of serious and sometimes life-threatening infections following surgery, as patients essentially infect themselves. Nasal decolonisation is a commonly used method for preventing SSIs, but overuse of the widely available antibiotic BactrobanTM (also known as mupirocin) has led to a significant increase in the development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. The double-blind, vehicle controlled BTX 1801 Phase 2a clinical study has been designed to evaluate the safety and local tolerability of two formulations of BTX 1801 to decolonise Staph and MRSA (or `Golden Staph') from the nose of healthy adults.