California pharmaceutical company Inverseon has announced that it will redirect its development program for INV102, an inverse beta agonist, to focus on smoking cessation and COPD rather than asthma, although it is continuing to seek grants for development of the product as a treatment for asthma.
Inverseon founder and Chair William Garner explained, “The prioritization of smoking cessation, and also an inhaled COPD program, makes sense for Inverseon given the regulatory hurdles in key markets. We credit Dr. Glass for this refinement of our priorities. Mitchell Glass’s extensive drug development background, relationships with the respiratory community, and experience with the strategic development and commercialization of therapeutics will be a major asset for Inverseon as the company advances its lead product (INV102) towards commercialization.”
Glass added, “Inverseon has provided critical support for the use of beta-adrenergic receptor inverse agonists for treating respiratory diseases. The founder’s basic scientific breakthroughs provide a rational explanation for our previous success in developing carvedilol for heart failure while I was at SmithKline Beecham and provide a rationale for using INV102 for treating COPD. Two Phase II asthma trials are supportive of further development for chronic pulmonary diseases.”
In addition to smoking cessation, COPD, and asthma, the company says that INV102 could potentially treat bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis as well. Inverseon, which was founded in 2004, received a patent for the use of oral or inhaled inverse beta agonists for the treatment of respiratory diseases in 2009.
Read the Inverseon press release.
