Small molecule drug developer Aria Pharmaceuticals (Palo Alto, Calif.) has announced that two investigational treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), TXR-1002 and TXR-1007, demonstrated efficacy and tolerability in preclinical research.
The two drug candidates reduced fibrosis and lung collagen staining.
The company used Boehringer Ingelheim’s nintedanib as a control in the research. TXR-1002 and TXR-1007 were comparable to nintedanib in reducing collagen in lung tissue and lowering lung infiltration of lymphocytes. In addition, the drug candidates reduced lung infiltration of neutrophils more than nintedanib.
The company reported that it completed the preclinical research in 12 weeks. “We were able to achieve this significant milestone in weeks versus the years required with a traditional approach,” said Anjali Pandey, senior vice president of nonclinical R&D and chemistry at Aria, in a statement.
Aria Pharmaceuticals has developed a proprietary AI-based platform to accelerate drug research. It has 18 diseases in its pipeline.
The company shared its findings concerning TXR-1002 and TXR-1007 at the IPF Summit today.
There are currently two treatment options available for IPF — nintedanib from Boehringer Ingelheim and pirfenidone from Roche.
“Currently approved therapies slow but do not stop IPF progression and are associated with a high rate of discontinuation due to on-target adverse effects,” stated Dr. Martin Kolb, director, division of respirology and Jack Gauldie Boehringer Ingelheim chair in interstitial lung disease, Department at McMaster University.
Filed Under: clinical trials, Drug Discovery
