RNS REACH
Press release
Synairgen plc
('Synairgen' or the 'Company')
Synairgen to Present Phase II Biomarker Data for SNG001 at the European Respiratory Society International Congress
Southampton, UK - 27 September 2019: Synairgen (LSE: SNG), the respiratory drug discovery and development company, is presenting biomarker data from the first part of its ongoing Phase II trial of its wholly-owned antiviral therapy inhaled interferon beta (IFN-beta) in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress being held in Madrid 28 September - 2 October 2019.
Exacerbations of COPD are associated with disease progression and are a major cause of the healthcare burden associated with this common disease. A significant proportion of exacerbations are caused by respiratory viruses, such as those that cause the common cold and flu, when infections spread to the lungs.
Synairgen's two-part Phase II trial, called SG015, has been designed to assess Synairgen's inhaled IFN-beta in COPD patients when they have a cold or flu infection. The data being presented are from Part 1 of the study, in which patients were treated with inhaled IFN-beta when they did not have a cold or flu infection. Analysis of samples from the lung shows that treatment with IFN-beta boosted the lungs' antiviral defences, increasing Synairgen's confidence in the likelihood of a positive outcome in Part 2 of the study in which inhaled IFN-beta is being assessed when patients do have a confirmed respiratory virus infection.
The data will be presented by Synairgen's Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Phillip Monk, at the Congress on Sunday 29 September in the session entitled "COPD clinical trials: new molecules and novel insights" (8.30 to 10.30 am Room 6F).
Professor Tom Wilkinson, leading international lung disease specialist and Chief Investigator for the SG015 study, commented: "Respiratory virus infections, such as the common cold and flu, are a major cause of exacerbations of COPD, which are the second most common cause of unplanned hospital admission in England, so there is a real need for a treatment that helps patients when they have a cold or flu infection. The biomarker data from Part 1 indicate that we are 'switching on' antiviral defences in the lungs which we hope will translate into a clinical benefit in Part 2 of the study, when patients take either placebo or inhaled IFN-beta for 14 days when they have a confirmed respiratory viral infection. The trial is progressing well, and we are on track to complete the study during this coming winter virus season."
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For further enquiries, please contact:
Synairgen plc
Richard Marsden, Chief Executive Officer
John Ward, Finance Director
Tel: + 44 (0) 23 8051 2800
finnCap
Geoff Nash, Max Bullen-Smith (Corporate Finance)
Alice Lane (ECM)
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7220 0500
Consilium Strategic Communications (Financial Media and Investor
Relations)
Mary-Jane Elliott, Sue Stuart, Olivia Manser, Carina Jurs
synairgen@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700
Notes for Editors
About Synairgen
Synairgen is a respiratory drug discovery and development company founded by University of Southampton Professors Stephen Holgate, Donna Davies and Ratko Djukanovic. The business, focused primarily on asthma and COPD, uses its differentiating human biology BioBank platform and world-renowned international academic KOL network to discover and develop novel therapies for respiratory disease.
Synairgen is currently running a two-part Phase II trial evaluating SNG001, the Company's wholly-owned inhaled interferon beta (IFN-beta) therapeutic candidate. The Phase II trial, called SG015, has been designed to assess the safety of SNG001 in COPD patients and its clinical benefit in these patients when they have a cold or flu infection, a major driver of COPD exacerbations.
Synairgen is quoted on AIM (LSE: SNG). For more information about Synairgen, please see www.synairgen.com