Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc. has received clearance from Health Canada to proceed with a first-in-human trial in Canada using oral ARDS-003 (onternabez) to treat various immunomodulatory conditions. Oral ARDS-003 is positioned to modulate acute systemic inflammation and prevent sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and organ damage.
Obesity is tied to airway hyperresponsiveness and lung fibrosis, which may lead to patients with asthma and obesity poorly responding to asthma therapy. Blocking proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is known to reduce serum cholesterol levels and to exert anti-inflammatory effects.
A new study found that nebulized mRNA therapy could be an effective approach to treating acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a rapidly progressing lung disease that can lead to respiratory failure and death. This work focused on two genes, nuclear factor kappaB (NF-κB) inhibitor α super-repressor (IκBα-SR) and superoxide dismutase 3 (SOD3), previously shown to reduce the severity of pneumonia when delivered prophylactically by viral vectors.
While it is known that differentiated myofibroblasts produce excessive collagens, which accumulate in tissues and cause hardening, the mechanisms involved in these processes are largely unknown. In a recent study, Kyushu University scientists aimed to assess the molecular mechanisms by which matrix stiffness increases fibrosis-related gene expression in myofibroblasts.
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen has identified histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, small cell and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Lung Therapeutics Inc. has divulged conjugates comprising epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) blockers (particularly, amiloride and benzamil) covalently linked to peptides to retain in lung tissues reported to be useful for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, primary ciliary dyskinesia, pulmonary emphysema, pneumonia and bronchiectasis.
Scientists from Sichuan University and affiliated organizations have discovered a new signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) inhibitor, being developed as a potential therapeutic candidate against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).