Vast Therapeutics announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the company $1,988,594 to support a 2-year project titled “Nebulized ALX1 as a treatment for Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in bronchiectasis patients.” According to the company’s web site, “ALX1 contains a water soluble, small molecule prodrug (<500 Da) that releases the pharmacologically active metabolite, Nitric Oxide (NO) with sustained release duration of up to 8 hours.”
In March 2024, Vast announced the appointments of Paul Bruinenberg as Chief Medical Officer and Chris Polage as Medical Director, saying that it was preparing for clinical development of ALX1 inhalation solution. In addition to Phase 1 development of ALX1 for the treatment of lung infections in both CF and non-CF bronchiectasis, the company also plans development of the inhalation solution for NTM lung disease and COPD, the web site said.
Vast Therapeutics CEO Nathan Stasko commented, “This award recognizes the commercialization potential of this technology, the strength of our management team, and the potential impact to patients. Current solutions don’t completely solve the problem and lead to progressive loss of lung function over time. We believe that eradicating Pseudomonas has the potential to save lives.”
Read the Vast Therapeutics press release
