Sweden's Orexo says that a mid-stage trial of an experimental therapy for allergic rhinitis failed to demonstrate efficacy in reducing symptoms when compared to a placebo. But the developer still believes that the drug could work against COPD.
The drug--OX914--is the first compound in Orexo's PDE4 inhibitor program, which is advancing new molecules for the treatment of inflammatory airway diseases including rhinitis, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Researchers gave patients 15 mg or 50 mg doses per day in the Phase IIa study.
"Although we are disappointed that the lead molecule did not meet its primary endpoint after oral treatment in this rhinitis study, we remain confident that the PDE4 program contains very potent and targeted inhibitors of PDE4, a clinically-validated target for both COPD and asthma," says CSO Charlotte Edenius. "We will continue with our partnering discussions for OX914 and the program for various inflammatory indications."
- here's Orexo's release