Aradigm Corporation has received a 2-year Small Business Initiative Research (SBIR) grant of about $972,000 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) for development of Linhaliq and Lipoquin to treat pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections, the company said.
The grant will support Phase 2 research into the use of Linhaliq (formerly Pulmoquin) and Lipoquin inhaled liposomal ciprofloxacin formulations for the treatment of lung infections caused by Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium abscessus. Researchers will test Linhaliq and Lipoquin in combination with a variety of antibiotics, looking out for the development of resistant bacteria.
Oregon State University Professor Luiz Bermudez, who will lead the laboratory research, said, “Pulmonary infections with non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have become a serious growing public health problem in the US and many other countries as they can result in debilitating lung disease and are costly to treat. We have shown that lung-delivered liposomal ciprofloxacin is effective in in vitro and animal models of NTM without causing the emergence of resistant NTM. Patients with NTM at present typically have to use several antibiotics to avoid the emergence of resistance. This NIH grant is important as it enables us to compare the benefits of lung-delivered liposomal ciprofloxacin alone or in combination with other antibiotics.”
Read the Aradigm press release.
