Celdara Medical and Pulmatrix have been awarded a 3-year $1.7 million Fast Track Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for development of an inhaled therapy for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the companies said. A dry powder formulation of CM-YJH01, a biologic, will be developed using Pulmatrix’s iSPERSE inhalation technology to treat fibrosis in the lungs.
According to the announcement, pre-clinical testing conducted by Yvonne Janssen-Heininger at the University of Vermont, showed that CM-YJH01 reduced lung fibrosis in an unspecified model. Janssen-Heininger is Professor of Pathology at the University of Vermont and Scientific Founder at Celdara Medical.
Celdara Medical Co-founder and CEO Jake Reder said, “We are thankful to NHLBI and this will accelerate our collaboration with Prof. Janssen-Heininger and Pulmatrix. This is an important opportunity to advance the development of this novel therapy, which has demonstrated its ability to not just halt, but also reverse fibrosis in preclinical models. Successful execution will get us to the clinic and bring us closer to helping patients.”
Pulmatrix Chief Scientific Officer David Hava commented, We believe that an inhaled version of CM-YJH01 is an attractive therapeutic approach, as we can deliver the medication directly to the site of disease. Several first generation drugs have made important contributions to the treatment of IPF and we believe there remains an opportunity to further improve efficacy while at the same time reducing the side effects that can result from systemic delivery.”
Read the Pulmatrix and Celdara Medical press release.
