London, UK, 3 April 2014 – Verona Pharma plc (AIM: VRP), the drug development company focused on “first-in-class” medicines to treat respiratory diseases, reports that the Company CEO, Dr Jan-Anders Karlsson, will be presenting at the 10th Annual Asthma and COPD Conference, taking place at the Marriott Hotel, Regents Park, London at 16:00 today.
The oral presentation will discuss “RPL554 as a novel dual PDE3/4 inhibitor for the treatment of asthma and COPD”, and will include the following points:
• COPD is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world, and the prevalence is increasing
• COPD is one of the most common causes of hospitalization in UK
• More effective treatments are needed to reduce exacerbations and hospitalizations
• RPL554 is an effective bronchodilator with anti-inflammatory properties
• RPL554 is a novel, inhaled treatment for patients with severe COPD, currently in Phase 2 clinical trials
The presentation supports Verona Pharma’s view that RPL554 could become an important, novel and complementary inhaled medicine for the treatment of such respiratory diseases as asthma and COPD, either as monotherapy, or as an addition to existing therapies. The Company is initially progressing further development of the drug, in nebulised form, as a treatment for severe COPD, a significant unmet medical need.
This year’s Asthma and COPD Conference will focus on the cutting edge concepts driving the developments of asthma and COPD forward. Further details on the presentations and timings can be accessed via the following website: http://www.smi-online.co.uk/pharmaceuticals/uk/conference/asthma-copd.
For more information, please contact:
Verona Pharma plc Tel: 020 7863 3300
Clive Page, Chairman
Jan-Anders Karlsson, CEO
Richard Bungay, CFO
WH Ireland Limited (NOMAD) Tel: 020 7220 1666
Chris Fielding
Nick Field
FTI Consulting Tel: 020 3727 1000
Julia Phillips
Simon Conway
Notes to Editors
About the Asthma and COPD Conference
There is a growing demand for the next generation of inhaled combination products and novel therapeutics. This conference will enable delegates to gain valuable insight into the latest ground-breaking advances in the respiratory drug market. It will focus on the challenges and strategies to enhance patient outcomes, providing extensive knowledge from the key leading industry and academic experts.
The agenda will focuss on the treatment for exacerbations, clinical trial design and strategies for method enhancement, biomarkers and the utilisation of devices for Asthma and COPD. Key focus will be put on the anti-inflammatory developments in addition to the efficacy and toxicological issues relating to combination products.
Insight will be given on the current regulatory requirements and enable delegates to stay up to date with the guidelines.
About Verona Pharma plc
Verona Pharma is developing “first-in-class” drugs to treat respiratory disease, such as COPD, asthma and chronic, severe cough. The Company has three drug programmes, two of which are in Phase II. The lead programme, RPL554, is an innovative dual phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and 4 inhibitor with both bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory properties. VRP700 is an innovative product for suppressing chronic, severe cough in patients with underlying lung disease. In its third programme, Verona Pharma is investigating novel anti-inflammatory molecules, called NAIPs, for a wide range of respiratory and inflammatory diseases.
About RPL554 for the treatment of COPD and Asthma
Verona Pharma’s lead drug, RPL554, is a dual phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and 4 inhibitor being developed as a novel treatment for chronic obstructive airways disease such as COPD and asthma with bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory effects. Both effects are essential to improve symptoms in patients with COPD or asthma. RPL554 is currently in phase II for both diseases.
COPD is a chronic lung disease with significant unmet need for which current treatment is far from optimal, as it often has unwanted side-effects and/or limited effectiveness. COPD is most commonly characterised by fixed airflow obstruction and chronic airways inflammation resulting from exposure to irritants like tobacco smoke. Asthma, which remains one of the most common chronic diseases in the world, is characterised by recurrent breathing problems and symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing. The market for COPD and asthma drugs is currently estimated to be GBP20 billion [source: visiongain].
About VRP700 for the treatment of Cough
VRP700 is Verona Pharma's lead drug compound for the treatment of cough, having a novel mechanism of action involving the suppression of cough initiating signals originating from cough sensory nerve endings located in the lungs. A clinical trial completed at the University of Florence, Italy in September 2011 clearly demonstrated significant anti-tussive effects with nebulised VRP700 in hospitalized patients with chronic severe cough.
Cough can be a very debilitating comorbidity reported by patients, especially those with respiratory conditions such as asthma, COPD, lung cancer, interstitial lung disease, fibrosis or lung infections. It is a neglected symptom which is often self-medicated. Consumer spending on OTC medications, including those for cough, grew by 10% over 2005-10, to reach GBP532 million in UK [source: Mintel]. However, there is very little clinical evidence for such OTC cough medications being really effective and it is widely recognised by the medical community that there is a large need for more effective drugs to control and prevent pathologically induced coughing.
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