According to Verona Pharma a Phase 1/2 trial of its RPL554 inhaled PDE3/4 inhibitor for the treatment of COPD has gotten underway with dosing of the first subjects. Plans are for recruitment of up to 120 healthy volunteers and COPD patients in total, with results expected by the end of the year.
The trial is testing a new formulation of RPL554 “suitable for commercial scale-up”; studies of the previous formulation showed “that the drug is a very potent bronchodilator with the ability to illicit a unique anti-inflammatory response,” the company said. Verona’s new Chief Medical Officer Kenneth Newman is providing oversight for the study, which is taking place at the Medicines Evaluation Unit in Manchester.
Verona Pharma CEO Jan-Anders Karlsson commented, “We believe that this new proprietary formulation for nebulized RPL554 will allow us to develop optimally and commercialise this unique drug as an effective treatment for acute exacerbations in COPD. We look forward to reporting the results from this important clinical study, which profiles the new formulation in healthy volunteers and COPD patients, in the second half of 2015.”
Read the Verona Pharma press release.
