North Carolina-based Renovion said that it has raised $8.1 million in a Series A financing round for development of its ARINA-1 nebulized glutathione/bicarbonate/ascorbic acid formulation for the treatment of chronic lung diseases. ARINA-1, which is delivered via the PARI eFlow nebulizer system, has been granted orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of lung disease following lung transplantation and for cystic fibrosis.
According to the company, a Phase 2/3 trial of ARINA-1 in lung transplant patients is expected to begin in early 2021. Clinical programs for the treatment of cystic fibrosis and non-CF bronchiectasis are also planned.
University of Alabama Birmingham CF researcher Steven Rowe said, “My lab has worked extensively with ARINA-1 to determine how the drug effects CF mucus and mucus transport. CF mucus is severely problematic, and ARINA-1 strongly augments mucus transport in CF cells that are defective for this trait. Based on our studies demonstrating that ARINA-1 is substantially more effective than hypertonic saline for mucus clearance in CF cells, the potential for ARINA-1 to help people with CF improve clinically is promising. Importantly, CF mucus is emblematic of difficult to treat mucus in other airway diseases. As ARINA-1’s mechanism is multi-faceted, it also has the potential to help in other diseases.”
Renovion CEO Dan Copeland commented, “Patient and laboratory studies have shown that ARINA-1 significantly improves mucus clearance while reducing inflammation. There are limited options available and we see a great opportunity to help these patient. This funding will be instrumental in progressing our clinical programs in patients suffering from chronic lung diseases, including patients with a lung transplant, cystic fibrosis (CF), and non-CF bronchiectasis.”
Read the Renovion press release.
