Verona Pharma plc, the biotechnology company focused on developing novel treatments for chronic respiratory diseases, announces that it has commenced a new trial with its lead drug candidate, the dual PDE 3 and 4 inhibitor, RPL554.
This clinical trial is taking place at the Medicines Evaluation Unit (MEU) in Manchester, UK and is designed to test the anti-inflammatory properties of RPL554 in healthy subjects with respect to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (“COPD”). The subjects will be treated once daily for 6 consecutive days with inhaled RPL554 before being challenged on the last day by an irritant agent that provokes an inflammatory response in their airways. The ability of RPL554 to reduce the amount of inflammation in the airways will be measured. This particular test resembles certain aspects of the airway inflammation in patients with COPD and is a common step in the development of new medicines for this disease. The study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that will enroll 24 subjects and is expected to finish around year-end.
Dr. Jan-Anders Karlsson, CEO of Verona Pharma said: “RPL554 has the potential to become a new targeted therapy for patients with severe forms of respiratory disease. This trial at MEU is important as it is the first clinical trial designed to evaluate specifically the anti-inflammatory properties of RPL554 in human subjects. RPL554 shows unique dual bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory properties in pre-clinical models, and the company has already demonstrated that RPL554 is a bronchodilator in patients with COPD and asthma. Today there is no therapy that combines both bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory properties in one compound available to patients with respiratory diseases.”
Date: July 9, 2012
Source: Verona Pharma plc
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
