Akari Advances Lung Program with Inhaled Nomacopan

 Akari Therapeutics, Plc (Nasdaq: AKTX), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative therapeutics to treat orphan autoimmune and inflammatory diseases where complement (C5) and/or leukotriene (LTB4) systems are implicated, today announced further development of a program for the inhaled delivery of nomacopan to the lung, working with Inhalation Sciences AB to refine dosing and pharmacokinetics of nomacopan for both dry powder and nebulized delivery.

Clive Richardson, Chief Executive Officer of Akari Therapeutics, said, “Accumulating data with nomacopan indicate that the innate immune response driven by complement and leukotriene pathways could be critical in determining the severity of the inflammatory response across a range of diseases including in the lung. Gaining control of the dysregulation in innate responses by inhibiting C5 and LTB4 with an inhaled form of nomacopan could provide relief from often life-threatening exacerbations in lung illnesses such as COPD and severe asthma. We are therefore delighted to be working with Inhalation Biosciences AB to further develop an inhaled drug delivery system for nomacopan.”

Data from Akari-sponsored observational studies in exacerbating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (n=24) and COVID-pneumonia (n= 72) indicated complement C5 and LTB4 levels were elevated and the severity of exacerbations in COPD patients was associated with the initial levels of C5. This points to the potential for nomacopan, a potent inhibitor of both C5 and LTB4, as a focused treatment for disease exacerbations across multiple severe lung disorders, including severe asthma, COPD and COVID-pneumonia.

Importantly, given both the acute nature of exacerbations which typically last 2-4 weeks and evidence from the COPD observational studies that much of the excess C5 and LTB4 is generated in the lung, a fast-acting inhaled delivery system is likely to be the preferred delivery route for exacerbating patients. Therefore, to optimize the potential clinical utility of nomacopan, Akari is now in development of an inhaled formulation of nomacopan with Inhalation Sciences AB.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/akari-advances-lung-program-inhaled-133000566.html