Palisade Bio, Inc. announced positive topline Phase 2 clinical trial data that LB1148 had a statistically significant (p=0.0008) effect in accelerating the return of bowel function in patients undergoing elective bowel resection surgery. The Phase 2, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled clinical trial was completed as part of a co-development agreement between Palisade Bio and Newsoara. The study involved 120 patients undergoing elective bowel resection surgery and included laparotomy and laparoscopic surgical approaches. In addition, the study included patients undergoing either anastomosis or stoma creation. The primary outcome was recovery of bowel function measured as the time from the end of surgery to oral food tolerance and passage of stool. Results from the study include: A 1.1-day improvement in GI recovery in patients receiving LB1148 vs placebo. The median time to return of bowel function was 2.77 days in patients treated with LB1148 and 3.83 days in those receiving placebo (hazard ratio = 1.886; p = 0.0008). The difference between groups increased at the 3rd quartile (75th percentile), with LB1148 (3.4 days) demonstrating a 1.5-day faster recovery of bowel function compared to placebo (4.9 days). LB1148 was well tolerated with only 10.9% and 4.8% of patients in the LB1148 group and placebo group, respectively, experiencing a drug-related adverse event. The most common drug-related adverse events were GI disorders (LB1148 4.7% vs. placebo 3.2%). No drug-related serious adverse events occurred in the trial.