Verona Pharma has made an important step in the phase two clinical trial for its candidate RPL554, used for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Namely, the first patient has been dosed testing RPL544 as an add-on therapy to tiotropium, Spiriva.
Boehringer Ingelheim, the maker of Spiriva in mid February got FDA’s approval of Spiriva Respimat for the long-term, once-daily maintenance treatment of asthma in people age 6 and older.
Verona expects major data from the testing in the fourth quarter of 2017. The UK-based company is currently developing RPL554 for the maintenance treatment of COPD patients and for the treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis. It is also developing RPL554 as an add-on therapy to short-acting bronchodilators and other commonly used therapies for the treatment of hospitalised patients with acute exacerbations of COPD.
“COPD is a chronic and debilitating respiratory disease for which there is no cure,” said Dr Jan-Anders Karlsson, Verona Pharma’s Chief Executive Officer. “According to the World Health Organization, COPD is the third leading cause of death globally, with 210 million people worldwide suffering from the disease. The clinical data we have announced to date supports our belief that RPL554 has the potential to be an important new treatment for COPD patients and we now continue to characterise RPL554 by studying it as an add-on therapy to tiotropium, a commonly used long-acting bronchodilator in COPD patients.”