Glasgow UK - 17 August 2022: A drug being developed for the treatment of severe asthma and COPD has passed an important milestone. Scientists at REPROCELL compared the effects of the compound, RCD405, with drugs that are currently used to treat respiratory disease by assessing the effects of the drug ex vivo in human living bronchi.
“Human tissue studies provide unique data on the effect of potential new drugs in a living human system,” said Dr David Bunton, CEO of REPROCELL Europe. “Unlike animal and in vitro models, you can observe the likely therapeutic effects of a drug in a functioning human system; it’s like a mini clinical trial,” he continued.
Arcede Pharma, a spin-out from Respiratorius, the Lund-based Pharma company behind the drug candidate, is developing RCD405 as a powder formulation for inhalation. Before approaching REPROCELL, they had been asked by the Swedish Medical Products Agency for data comparing RCD405 to other bronchodilators currently on the market.
REPROCELL found that RCD405 caused complete relaxation of ex vivo human airways comparable to other standard-of-care bronchodilators. In separate experiments conducted by Arcede Pharma/Respiratorius using PBMCs and enzyme assays, RCD405 was also found to have anti-inflammatory properties, which will provide a unique competitive advantage if the compound makes it to market.
"These are crucial important results for RCD405 where, for the first time in the same model, we can compare with established bronchodilatory substances. Something that was also requested earlier at the scientific advisory meeting at the Swedish Medical Products Agency,” said Johan Drott, CEO at Respiratorius. “The results are also important for the application for approval of clinical studies to be initiated after the toxicological studies,” he continued.
This ex vivo study has provided the final data boost RCD405 needed before regulatory preclinical toxicology studies and subsequent clinical trials. You can find out more information about outsourcing ex vivo lung studies on the REPROCELL website: https://www.reprocell.com/drug-efficacy-safety-adme/human-tissue-assays/respiratory
About REPROCELL: REPROCELL (previously Biopta) are experts in human tissue technology, which predicts clinical success by using the closest possible model of drug behavior in humans. Human tissue testing is a translational approach to drug discovery that bridges the gap between animal studies and clinical trials. Find out more at: https://www.reprocell.com/drug-efficacy-safety-adme
About Arcede Pharma: Arcede Pharma AB is a spin-out from Respiratorius AB, and is developing drug candidates with the goal to provide improved treatments for chronic respiratory diseases through new, innovative and patent protected substances, thereby reducing suffering and ameliorating quality of life for patients. Find out more at:www.arcedepharma.com.
See also: https://www.respiratorius.com/
Official Press Releases
Cision News (12 October 2021) Verifying results of efficacy for RCD405. Retrieved from: https://news.cision.com/respiratorius/r/verifying-results-of-efficacy-for-rcd405,c3430786
BioStock (13 October 2021) Respiratorius’ RCD405 shows efficacy in preclinical study. Retrieved from: https://www.biostock.se/en/2021/10/respiratorius-rcd405-shows-efficacy-in-preclinical-study/
