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Biotech company Pulmatrix Inc. is starting a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial of its new inhaled influenza treatment PUR003, which possibly could be used against the current swine flu.
Lexington-based Pulmatrix said that its lead drug candidate PUR003 is a so-called Cationic Airway Lining Modulator drug. After inhaling, it is meant to stimulate host defense mechanisms within the airway, and it can be used to treat an already sick patient as well as prevent infection. Pulmatrix claimed its approach could “fundamentally change” the way respiratory diseases are treated, prevented and controlled.
To demonstrate the drug’s effectiveness, Pulmatrix said it will initiate a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled test that will start in the third quarter of 2009. The company claimed the Phase 1 results and preclinical data of PUR003 supported clinical development. The drug was “well tolerated at all doses evaluated with no serious adverse events reported,” the company stated in a press release.
Pulmatrix explained that preclinical studies indicated that PUR003 worked across different strains of influenza, including swine flu.
Pulmatrix was founded in 2003 by scientists from Harvard University and MIT with an eye to creating inhaled drugs and supporting technologies to treat and control disease. In particular, it seeks to prevent the spread of airborne and respiratory infectious diseases in animals and humans with a mixed hardware-chemical combination. Among its initial investors is the venture capital finance firm Polaris Venture Partners and 5Am Ventures, a life sciences seed money provider. Both are based in Waltham.
Earlier this year, Pulmatrix secured $3.5 million of a sought-after $4 million in venture capital funding.
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