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RNS Number : 6871E
Synairgen plc
22 October 2018
Press release
Synairgen plc
('Synairgen' or the 'Company')
First patient dosed in Part 2 of Synairgen's Phase II clinical
trial in patients with COPD
Part 2 assesses the efficacy and safety of inhaled SNG001 in
patients with COPD with a confirmed cold or flu virus
Southampton, UK - 22 October 2018: Synairgen (LSE: SNG), the
respiratory drug discovery and development company, announces that
dosing has commenced in Part 2 of its Phase II clinical trial for
its wholly-owned inhaled interferon-beta (IFN-beta) therapeutic
candidate, SNG001, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD).
Part 1 of the trial successfully assessed the safety and
antiviral biomarker activity of SNG001 in COPD patients when
patients were free of viral infection. The aim of Part 2 is to
study the efficacy and safety of inhaled SNG001 in up to 120 COPD
patients with a confirmed respiratory viral infection.
IFN-beta is a naturally-occurring antiviral protein produced by
lung cells on exposure to a respiratory virus. Lung cells from
patients with COPD have been shown to have a poor antiviral
response in vitro. Treating cells with SNG001 has been shown to
orchestrate antiviral defence mechanisms which protect COPD lung
cells against respiratory viruses in in vitro models. In addition,
independent research published by Nature Communications suggests
that the increased risk of pneumonia associated with the use of
inhaled corticosteroids to treat exacerbations in COPD could be due
to suppression of interferons and proposes that inhaled IFN-beta
therapy could be protective.(1)
Richard Marsden, Chief Executive Officer of Synairgen, said:
"Cold and flu respiratory viruses cause approximately 50% of COPD
exacerbations and are the second most common cause of unplanned
hospital admission in England, presenting a significant health risk
and economic burden.
"With no effective broad spectrum antiviral treatment on the
market, we believe treating COPD patients with our wholly-owned
product, SNG001, has the potential to enhance greatly the patient's
defences against viral infection, reduce exacerbations, increase
quality of life and reduce hospitalisations. Commencement of Part 2
of this Phase II trial in advance of the winter virus season is
clearly another key milestone for Synairgen."
This announcement contains inside information as defined in
Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014 ('MAR')
For more information on the trial please visit:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03570359?term=SNG001&rank=2
- Ends -
For further enquiries, please contact:
Synairgen plc
Richard Marsden, Chief Executive Officer
John Ward, Finance Director
Tel: + 44 (0) 23 8051 2800
finnCap
Geoff Nash, Max Bullen-Smith (Corporate Finance)
Alice Lane (ECM)
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7220 0500
Consilium Strategic Communications (Financial Media and
Investor
Relations)
Mary-Jane Elliott / Sue Stuart / Olivia Manser / Laura
Thornton
synairgen@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5701
Notes for Editors
About COPD
COPD is a progressive lung disease punctuated by periods of
exacerbation involving acute worsening of symptoms, which have
major implications for both the patient and the healthcare system.
COPD exacerbations are the second most common cause of unplanned
hospitalisation.(2) The risk that a cold will cause an exacerbation
of COPD is around 50%(3) and could be even higher in certain
at-risk patients(4) (considerably higher than for asthmatic
patients, where the risk that a cold will cause an exacerbation is
less than 10%).
About Synairgen
Synairgen is a respiratory drug discovery and development
company founded by University of Southampton Professors Stephen
Holgate, Donna Davies and Ratko Djukanovic. The business, focused
primarily on asthma and COPD, uses its differentiating human
biology BioBank platform and world-renowned international academic
KOL network to discover and develop novel therapies for respiratory
disease. Leveraging its scientific and clinical facilities at
Southampton General Hospital, the Company uses in vitro and ex vivo
models to progress opportunities into
clinical development. The BioBank of human samples is used in
these models to increase confidence in the likelihood of successful
drug development.
Synairgen is currently running a two-part Phase II trial
evaluating SNG001, the Company's wholly-owned inhaled interferon
beta (IFN-beta) therapeutic candidate. The Phase II trial, called
SG015, has been designed to assess the safety of SNG001
in COPD patients and its clinical benefit in these patients when
they have a cold or flu infection, a major driver of COPD
exacerbations.
Core to Synairgen's business strategy is the realisation of
value via licensing transactions. In August 2015 the Company
entered into a collaboration with Pharmaxis to develop an oral
LOXL2 inhibitor to reduce fibrosis in patients with idiopathic
pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In December 2017 the collaboration
agreement was amended as Pharmaxis took on full responsibility for
the programme, with Synairgen receiving a GBP5 million upfront
payment and circa 17% of any future net partnering proceeds from
all fibrotic indications.
Synairgen is quoted on AIM (LSE: SNG). For more information
about Synairgen,
please see www.synairgen.com
References:
1. Singanayagam A, et al. Corticosteroid suppression of
antiviral immunity increases bacterial loads and mucus production
in COPD exacerbations. Nature Communications 2018. Doi:
10.1038/s41467-018-04574-1
2. Department of Health. An Outcomes Strategy for Chronic
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Asthma in England.
Published July 2011
3. Johnston NW, et al. Colds as predictors of the onset and
severity of COPD exacerbations. International Journal of COPD
2017:12: 839-848
4. Wilkinson TMA, et al. A prospective, observational cohort
study of the seasonal dynamics of airway pathogens in the aetiology
of exacerbations in COPD. Thorax 2017;0:1-9.
Doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl=2016-209023
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
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Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
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of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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