EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals pushes COPD candidate

The Icelandic inflammation specialist received regulatory approval for its Phase IIa trial of Barriolide™ (EP395) in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The study is conducted at the University of Manchester for the Icelandic company. Its lead molecule EP395 is an oral non-antibiotic macrolide with reduced antibiotic resistance risk.

With COPD being the third leading cause of death, EpiEndo takes a new approach to drug development to mitigate the symptoms of chronic respiratory diseases since Barriolide™ seems to restore the epithelial barrier insufficiency that is believed to be a key driver of COPD-induced inflammation.

Today, COPD management relies mainly on inhaled drugs that mitigate COPD symptoms, including long-acting adrenoceptor agonists (LABA), long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonists (LAMA), and corticosteroids (ICS).