Synairgen plc - Patent granted for lung barrier screening test
11 Feb 2008
Synairgen plc (LSE:SNG), the company developing novel therapies for asthma and COPD, today announces that a US patent has been granted for a screening test that can identify compounds capable of improving lung barrier function in asthmatics ("Barrier Function").
In asthmatics, the cell barrier that lines the lungs is poorly formed and may be one of the root causes of asthma. It is believed that external irritants such as pollen, air pollution and viruses may pass through this 'leaky' barrier thereby creating the inflammation, which many conventional steroid-based asthma therapies are designed to treat. Synairgen's patented test enables it to validate early stage compounds with the potential of improving Barrier Function.
Using the screening test, Synairgen has shown that a panel of growth factors can restore Barrier Function in its proprietary asthmatic cell models. The Company has engineered one of these factors to target the specific cells associated with Barrier Function and it is being developed for delivery by inhalation by Synairgen.
Richard Marsden, Managing Director of Synairgen, said: "The granting of this patent validates the novelty of our approach to asthma research. We have successfully used the 'screen' to optimise Synairgen's growth factor which is currently in pre-clinical development."
For further information, please contact:
Synairgen
Tel: + 44 (0) 2380 512 800
Richard Marsden, Managing Director
John Ward, Finance Director
The Hogarth
Partnership
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7357 9477
Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Simon Hockridge
Notes for Editors
About Synairgen
Synairgen is a drug discovery company founded by Professors Stephen Holgate, Donna Davies and Ratko Djukanovic, focused on identifying and out-licensing new pharmaceutical products which address the underlying causes of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Synairgen is listed on AIM (LSE: SNG).
For more information about Synairgen please see www.synairgen.com.
Asthma statistics
* There are approximately 22 million asthmatics in
the USA(1)
* The economic cost to the USA is $19.7 billion per
year(2)
* Asthma accounts for 1,770,000 emergency department
visits per year in
the USA(1)
* The cost of emergency department visits and
in-patient care in relation
to asthma in the USA is $4.7
billion(2)
* 50% of the total cost of the asthma is apportioned
to 10% of the
asthmatic population with the severest
disease(3)
References
1. American Lung Association. Trends in Asthma
Morbidity and Morality. 2007
www.lungusa.org
2. Morbidity & Mortality: 2007 Chart Book on
cardiovascular, lung and blood
diseases produced by National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute
3. P.J. Barnes, B. Johnson, J.B. Klim. The Costs of
Asthma. Eur Respir J
1996 9, 636-642
