Fevipiprant is in clinical development for the treatment of patients aged 12 years and older with uncontrolled asthma who remain symptomatic despite treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) with or without at least one additional controller. Whilst there is no cure for asthma, most patients are able to control their symptoms by taking daily preventative medication and additional controllers when required. However, a small subset of asthma patients are resistant to the current standard of care for asthma and are unable to control their symptoms. This can have severe implications on their quality of life as uncontrolled asthma can result in decreased physical fitness, decreased sleep quality and decreased productivity at work or school.
Fevipiprant is administered orally once daily. It works by preventing the binding of substances called prostaglandin to DP2 receptors on inflammatory cells therefore preventing the inflammatory response to triggers that result in an asthma attack. Fevipiprant is the first asthma drug to decrease the airway smooth muscle mass that is often excessive in the airways of patients with asthma. If licensed, fevipiprant will offer a new treatment option for patients with uncontrolled asthma.
Drugs
August 2019
The triple fixed-dose combination (FDC), elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor-FDC, is in clinical development for cystic fibrosis (CF) that is heterozygous for F508del mutation and a minimal function mutation for patients aged 6 to 11 years old. CF is the most common, life-limiting recessively inherited (a faulty gene inherited from both parents) disease in the UK. Genetic mutations affect the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, which is essential for the regulation of salt and water movements across cell membranes. These mutations mean that the CFTR protein is not processed and moved through the cells normally, resulting in little to no CFTR protein at the cell surface. This results in thickened secretions in organs with epithelial cell lining, mainly affecting the lungs and digestive system.