Nuformix PLC has reported positive results from studies on one of its lead assets, NXP002, a proprietary new form of the antiallergic drug tranilast, developed as a novel inhaled treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Director Dr Dan Gooding went so far as to say the results were as "good as we could have hoped for".
The company recently began studies using a new iteration of a 3D human IPF lung tissue model.
The model aimed to significantly reduce output variability.
Results from these studies of NXP002 alone and in combination with current standards of care (SoC) demonstrated that NXP002 is well tolerated in ex-vivo human lung tissue, with no signs of toxicity events.
The evaluations also showed that NXP002 has a strong, consistent anti-fibrotic effect as demonstrated by the modulation of the release of multiple biomarkers of fibrosis.
Additionally, both high and low concentrations of NXP002 had an additive anti-fibrotic effect with SoC. The results suggest that NXP002 could provide additional efficacy, even in patients responding to the standard therapy.
The data also support NXP002's potential to increase the efficacy of existing therapies with the benefits of inhaled delivery and its potential as a monotherapy for patients declining SoCs.
Following the success of these studies, Nuformix plans to investigate inflammation-related biomarkers in the same tissue sample sets and expand the current study to include tissue from two additional human IPF tissue donors.
The company also aims to consider expanding its ongoing healthy lung tissue study to investigate NXP002's duration of action in three donors.
Director Gooding said: "Having seen the quality of these results, our aim now is to generate datasets from three donors in both human IPF and healthy lung duration of action studies.
"These data can be generated quickly and will be essential in opening up new discussions with potential licensing partners and support the overall progression of the NXP002 programme."