The first patients have been dosed in a Phase 2a study of Verona Pharma’s RPL554 inhaled PDE3/PDE4 inhibitor as an addition to albuterol (salbutamol) and with ipratropium for the treatment of COPD, Verona said. The double-blind, placebo-controlled, six way crossover study will enroll up to 30 patients and will use the new suspension formulation of RPL554.
Verona Pharma CEO Jan-Anders Karlsson commented, “We believe RPL554 has the potential to become an important new treatment option for COPD patients. This latest study will evaluate the potential of RPL554 when added to existing therapies. We recently announced encouraging results from our standalone Phase 2a study, which demonstrated that the new commercially scalable, suspension formulation of RPL554 is well tolerated and has allowed us to extend the dose range and the duration of bronchodilation effect that can be produced in COPD patients. Headline data from this combination study is expected in Q2 2016.”
Karlsson also said that the company plans to report headline data from a Phase 2a trial of RPL554 in asthma patients in early 2016.
Read the Verona Pharma press release.
