Date: 2011-11-25
Type of information: Preclinical data
phase: preclinical
Announcement: pre-clinical results
Company: Synairgen (UK)
Product: aerosolised interferon beta (IFN-beta)
Action mechanism:
Disease: viral pneumonia
Therapeutic area: Respiratory diseases - Infectious diseases - Lung diseases
Country:
Trial
details: - Pre-infection (“protective”) IFN-beta
The effect of IFN-beta was assessed to test “post exposure prophylaxis” usage, whereby inhaled IFN-beta would be used after the individual had been exposed to virus but before the infection had spread to the lung. Inhaled IFN-beta would be used in this way as a protective drug to boost lung antiviral defence in people who have been, or might be, exposed to a life-threatening virus such as SARS (a natural threat) or potentially an aerosolised highly pathogenic virus (bioterrorist threat).
- Post-infection (“treatment”) IFN-beta
Aerosolised IFN-beta was administered after the infection to simulate the treatment of patients who are hospitalised with persistent severe viral lung infection, for which there is currently no broad spectrum antiviral therapy available. Synairgen’s inhaled IFN-beta would be used to lessen the severity of illness and accelerate the patient’s recovery and discharge from hospital by boosting the immune antiviral response.
Latest
news: Synairgen has announced positive data from its pre-clinical study evaluating the effectiveness of aerosolised interferon beta (‘IFN-beta’) against viral pneumonia. The effect of aerosolised IFN-beta was evaluated in a model of viral pneumonia caused by pandemic H1N1 (‘swine flu’). Similar models have successfully predicted the clinical potential of antiviral therapies and vaccines. This study compared the potential use of aerosolised IFN-beta against placebo as either a pre-infection protective measure or as a post-infection treatment measure: Aerosolised IFN-beta in this study reduced virus-induced pneumonia. This finding, along with other supporting in vitro data, suggests that inhaled IFN-beta may have potential in two areas: • Broad spectrum post exposure prophylactic treatment for emerging viral threats e.g. severe influenza, SARS-like virus or bioterrorism threats • Treatment of patients hospitalised with a severe viral lung illness to reduce morbidity and mortality
• Both Pre- and Post-infection administration significantly reduced viral load measured using molecular methods (p• Pre-infection administration also significantly (p<0.05) reduced measures of pneumonia (alveolitis, alveolar haemorrhage, and oedema). Histopathology scores in the alveolar region were reduced by an average of approximately 55% when IFN-beta was compared to placebo. In the more challenging setting of Post-infection administration, there was also a clear trend for a reduction in the same measures of pneumonia (with average histopathology scores being approximately 40% lower than placebo).
