28th Jan 2009 07:00
For release 07.00 London, UK Time, 28 January 2009
Verona Pharma plc ("Verona Pharma" or the "Company") Verona Pharma obtains regulatory approval to conduct a clinical trial of its new anti-asthma drug RPL554
The AIM-quoted drug discovery company Verona Pharma plc has received approval from the regulatory authority in the Netherlands to commence its human clinical trial of RPL554, an innovative treatment for asthma and allergic rhinitis (hay fever).
The Company announced in early September that it had signed a contract to conduct a combined Phase I / IIa clinical trial of its potential drug, RPL554, at the Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR) in the Netherlands, subject to regulatory approval.
The study will begin immediately and is expected to be completed during the first half of 2009.
Chief Executive Dr. Michael Walker said: "The approval to begin a clinical trial is a major step in the development of what may be a landmark drug for the treatment of respiratory diseases, including asthma, hay fever and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our preclinical experimental work strongly suggests that RPL554 could provide effective relief for sufferers without many of the usual side effects reported with existing drug treatments for respiratory diseases. With the patent protection for many existing treatments due to expire in the near future, we expect RPL554 to be attractive to major pharmaceutical companies. Our aim is to partner or reach licence agreements with such companies for further development and commercialisation of RPL554."
Alongside the RPL554 project, Verona Pharma also has two on-going earlier-stage discovery and development drug programmes. One involves the potential effectiveness of anti-inflammatory substances for the treatment of respiratory diseases that are derived from marine sources such as starfish. The other programme is a drug treatment for chronic intractable cough.
-ends- For more information please contact:
Professor Clive Page 07971 504 931Chairman, Verona Pharma plc David Youngman / Adrian Kirk 0161 832 2174WH Ireland Ltd Andrew Dunn 020 7920 3150Tavistock Communications
About Verona Pharma plc (www.veronapharma.com )
Verona Pharma plc (AIM:VRP) is an AIM-quoted drug discovery company that is focused on finding new therapeutic drugs for the treatment of allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and other chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as chronic inflammatory diseases.
Globally, treatment of these diseases cost an estimated US$20 billion per annum. Despite such diseases being among the most prevalent diseases in the industrialised world, many of the current available treatments have unwanted side effects, and/or limited effectiveness.
Verona Pharma was admitted to AIM in September 2006, and is run by two world experts in pharmacology and drug discovery. Dr Michael Walker is Emeritus Professor of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of British Columbia, and a founder of other biotech, and biotech related companies. Chairman Dr Clive Page is a Professor of Pharmacology at King's College London, and an internationally-recognised authority in lung diseases and inflammation.
Verona Pharma's compound RPL554 is a long-acting bronchodilator/ anti-inflammatory drug (belonging to a class of drugs known as mixed phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3/4 inhibitors). As a PDE3/4 inhibitor, RPL554 targets the underlying cause of respiratory diseases by dilating the bronchial passages and blocking inflammation through a mechanism that is distinct from the established steroid and beta agonist drug classes.
RPL554 was co-invented by Sir David Jack and Alex Oxford, formerly of GlaxoSmithKline. Sir David was Research Director and the pioneer of many of the leading respiratory drugs currently available. He is regarded as one of the world's most successful inventors of significant new medicines.
Verona Pharma is also seeking to develop an anti-tussive drug that works to suppress the generation of a cough signal at the nerve endings in the lungs. The Company's longer term focus is to develop novel polysaccharides (NAIPS) as potential anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of respiratory allergies, asthma and other inflammatory diseases.
About The Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR) (www.chdr.nl)
The Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR) is a Dutch, full-service contract research organisation with tight connections to academic hospitals. It provides a full range of high quality clinical pharmacology services to the pharmaceutical industry, working as collaborative partners offering sophisticated advice to clients on all aspects of the process of drug development. It also runs its own research programmes, develops new biomarkers to optimize clinical research, Over the past 20 years this approach has led to a wide diversity of biomarkers that help to perform proof-of-pharmacology and proof-of-concept studies in the earliest phase of the drug development programmes.
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