Aerovance Completes Patient Enrollment In Phase 2b Clinical Trial Of Aerovant(TM) For Treatment Of Uncontrolled Asthma

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials;  Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Article Date: 04 Nov 2009 - 2:00 PST

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Aerovance Inc. announced it has completed patient enrollment in a Phase 2b clinical trial of the inhaled dry powder formulation of Aerovant for the treatment of uncontrolled asthma. Top-line results are expected by the second quarter of 2010.

Named AeroTrial(TM), the study enrolled approximately 540 patients at 75 sites in the United States and Europe. In the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging trial, patients with moderate to severe asthma who were inadequately controlled on the combination of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and long-acting beta agonists (LABA) were assigned to receive one of three Aerovant doses (1 mg, 3 mg or 10 mg) or placebo by inhalation twice daily for 12 weeks. During this time the standard ICS and LABA therapies were withdrawn gradually. The trial's primary endpoint is the incidence of asthma exacerbations on Aerovant therapy as compared to placebo. Secondary endpoints include pulmonary function, time to exacerbation, daily peak expiratory flow (PEF) and symptom scores, immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels and fractional concentration of expired nitric oxide (FeNO).

"We have reached a significant milestone in the development of Aerovant," said Mark Perry, Aerovance's president and chief executive officer. "We anticipate completing dosing of all patients in early 2010 and expect top-line data to be available by the second quarter of 2010, at which time Aerovance will resume discussions with potential corporate partners for the further development of Aerovant."

Aerovant is a recombinant human IL-4 variant that is a potent inhibitor of both IL-4 and IL-13 activity. Aerovance acquired the worldwide rights to the drug candidate when the company was formed as a spin-out of Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation in 2004.

AeroTrial is a late-stage clinical study using a dry powder formulation and follows positive clinical data from two Phase 2a studies in which Aerovant demonstrated significant benefit in asthmatics experimentally challenged with inhaled allergen (The Lancet 2007, 370: 1422-31). The dry powder formulation used in AeroTrial was well tolerated in a Phase 1 study in asthmatics. Aerovance is pursuing a non-steroidal approach to uncontrolled asthma by using a medication based on a protein occurring naturally in the body.

Source: Aerovance Inc