Synairgen PLC (LON:SNG) said it has completed recruitment of 120 coronavirus (COVID-19) patients for its Phase II trial evaluating the performance of its inhaled formulation of interferon-beta-1a (SNG001) treatment in the home.
Results from the trial are expected in the second quarter of 2021.
Synairgen is undertaking a two-part trial of SNG001 on 101 patients in hospital and 120 at home.
Encouraging results from the hospital part of the trial were published in The Lancet in November.
The home trial is aimed at people 65 and over, or with underlying health conditions, with delivery by courier and all trial assessments conducted remotely by video.
In a statement, Richard Marsden, Synairgen’s chief executive, said: “The trial is both a test of the drug, and a test of how technology can be utilised to deliver and manage the administration of an inhaled broad-spectrum antiviral to vulnerable patients in the context of a pandemic.”
This will reduce the need to transport infected patients, and eliminating virus exposure to healthcare workers, he added.
“We believe this methodology and treatments such as SNG001 could be invaluable alongside vaccines, now and in the future, to fight highly pathogenic viruses such as SARS-CoV-2," Marsden concluded.
Professor Nick Francis, Professor of General Practice at the University of Southampton, added: "This is a remarkable trial evaluating a novel therapeutic delivered in the home setting to people with COVID-19 who are at risk of developing complications. We have shown that inhaled therapies can be safely delivered at home, without the need for the patients, nurses or doctors to travel."
Synairgen added there is a growing body of evidence to support use of interferon-beta in the context of COVID-19 infection including data recently published in Nature Genetics, following research carried out by the University of Southampton.