Verona Pharma Announces Publication of Key Paper on RPL554 in COPD in the European Respiratory Journal

Verona Pharma (AIM:VRP) (Nasdaq:VRNA) a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for respiratory diseases, today announced that the high-impact, peer reviewed European Respiratory Journal has published  a paper entitled “The short term bronchodilator effects of the dual PDE3 and PDE4 inhibitor RPL554 in COPD” that provides full results from two positive Phase 2 clinical studies with RPL554.

As quoted in the press release:

The first study detailed in the publication compared the short-term bronchodilator effects of nebulized RPL554 with that of the commonly used bronchodilators salbutamol (a short-acting beta-agonist) and ipratropium (a short-acting anti-muscarinic agent), as well as placebo, in patients with reversible COPD.  Additional bronchodilator effects when adding RPL554 on top of these agents was also measured.

The second study detailed the extent of any additional bronchodilation that is achievable, in this patient group, when adding RPL554 to tiotropium (the long-acting anti-muscarinic Spiriva^®, one of the most commonly used drugs to treat COPD). In both studies, peak forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) lung volumes and specific airway conductance (sGAW) were studied as the principle measures of airway function. In both studies RPL554 demonstrated a placebo like side-effect profile.

The statistically significant results from these studies clearly demonstrate that the bronchodilator effect of RPL554 in patients with reversible COPD is, at the very least, of similar magnitude as that of the commonly used bronchodilators studied, and that clinically meaningful additional bronchodilation could be achieved by adding RPL554 to the treatment of patients with such drugs. The paper concludes that “…RPL554 provided additional bronchodilation, reduced gas trapping, improved airway conductance, and a more rapid onset of action when administered in combination with either a beta-2 agonist or muscarinic antagonist. These short-term bronchodilator studies provide support to further study RPL554 in longer term COPD studies focused on other endpoints including symptoms and exacerbations.”

Click here to read the full press release.