Clinical-stage biotechnology company Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Anticalin treatment suite to combat cancer, respiratory conditions and other maladies, recently obtained approval from Australian authorities to commence a first-time study for PRS-060/AZD1402, an inhaled treatment targeting asthma.
The Phase 1 study received approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), governing bodies in Australia for ethical oversight of human research and pharmaceutical product regulations, respectively, according to a press release.
The research, planned for subjects who are healthy, is being funded by AstraZeneca. The treatment will potentially help patients with moderate to severe asthma whose symptoms have not responded sufficiently to existing options.
The Anticalin treatment is distinguished from others because it is inhaled directly into the lungs, and the study will test its effectiveness and tolerance in subjects, the release said. Because this delivery method may require lower doses than systemically introduced treatments, it also has the potential to lower overall costs.
"We look forward to dosing the first subject in our first clinical trial for PRS-060/AZD1402 by year end, triggering a milestone payment by AstraZeneca to Pieris," Stephen Yoder, Pieris president and CEO, said in the release. "This program represents the first inhaled Anticalin protein to enter clinical development and will cap an ambitious year of pipeline progression, which included the clinical initiation of PRS-343, our lead immuno-oncology bispecific program."
Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc. is based in Boston.
