I would have used a version number of 1.44.1-1ubuntu2~ppa1 as this is greater than 1.44.1-1ubuntu1 and less than 1.44.1-1ubuntu2.
$ dpkg --compare-versions 1.44.1-1ubuntu2~ppa1 lt 1.44.1-1ubuntu2; echo $? 0
$ dpkg --compare-versions 1.44.1-1ubuntu2~ppa1 gt 1.44.1-1ubuntu1; echo $? 0
This is easy for a sponsor (me) to change though, so you don't need to go through the effort of creating a new debdiff.
I would have used a version number of 1.44.1- 1ubuntu2~ ppa1 as this is greater than 1.44.1-1ubuntu1 and less than 1.44.1-1ubuntu2.
$ dpkg --compare-versions 1.44.1- 1ubuntu2~ ppa1 lt 1.44.1-1ubuntu2; echo $?
0
$ dpkg --compare-versions 1.44.1- 1ubuntu2~ ppa1 gt 1.44.1-1ubuntu1; echo $?
0
This is easy for a sponsor (me) to change though, so you don't need to go through the effort of creating a new debdiff.