After recently receiving authorization for a Phase 1 trial of its ETH47 mRNA therapy, Ethris has initiated the study, the company announced. The trial is expected to enroll 88 healthy participants aged 18 to 55 and will evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of both nasal and inhaled delivery of ETH47, as well as combined nasal/inhaled delivery. The company said that it expects data to be available in the second quarter of 2024.
ETH47, which is based on the company’s SNaP (stabilized nanoparticle) lipidoid nanoparticle platform, encodes for type III interferon and is in development for the treatment of asthma induced by viral infection. Ethris says that the mRNA therapy also could be useful against respiratory viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2.
Ethris Chief Medical Officer Thomas Langenickel commented, “Our strategy with ETH47 was to develop a therapeutic that would induce mucosal innate immune responses at viral entry sites with a virus- and mutation-independent mode of action. Entering the clinic with our first program is a major milestone for Ethris and a testament to the capability of our best-in-class platform technology. Following promising preclinical results, we will evaluate ETH47 as a therapeutic and as a prophylactic medicine for prevention of severe disease following respiratory viral infections in patients with chronic respiratory disease such as asthma. We look forward to sharing the progress of our ETH47 clinical study in due course.”
Read the Ethris press release.
