Verona Pharma has announced that it will stop development of its VRP700 inhaled antitussive after the drug failed to produce statistically significant reduction in cough frequency compared to placebo in a Phase 2a clinical trial. The trial evaluated the efficacy of a single dose of VRP700 in 20 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients with severe chronic cough.
Earlier this year, Verona announced that it planned to raise up to £14 million for development of VRP700 and its lead drug, RPL554, an inhaled PDE3/PDE4 inhibitor for the treatment of COPD. The company says that it will now focus its efforts on RPL554.
Verona CEO Jan-Anders Karlsson commented, “These data are clearly disappointing and did not meet our expectations given the marked inhibition of coughing observed in a previous clinical trial with patients administered VRP700, albeit with a different underlying disease, ILD. It is possible that VRP700 works better in such patients or that more frequent dosing, for a longer time period, may be required to effectively suppress coughing in IPF patients. While we will not undertake any further in-house development of VRP700, we will comprehensively review the data from this study and explore opportunities to realize further value from this asset.”
Read the Verona press release.
