Healing the Damaged Lung
June 7, 2019
At the core of Lung Therapeutics, a company co-founded by Dr. Steven Idell, is a simple but profound hope: to help people who are suffering breathe easier.
Over the next few years, Idell and his colleagues are hoping to bring to market two drugs. One is a treatment for loculated pleural effusion (LPE), a complication of pneumonia from fluid build-up in the space between the lung and the lung lining. The other treats idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic lung disease typified by progressive lung scarring
The drugs are both based on decades of research from Idell’s lab at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, where he is professor of medicine and dean of the School of Medical Biological Sciences. The IPF drug project has been spear-headed by Dr. Sreerama Shelby who collaborates with Dr. Idell.
In 2012, in the hopes of bringing the fruits of his research to the market, Idell sought capital from the UT Horizon Fund, which was created by The University of Texas System to seed UT-related companies.
The fund came through with $500,000 dollars for Lung Therapeutics, enabling the company to launch in 2013, with Idell serving as chief scientific officer. The company has since procured approximately $20 million in investment funding, supplementing about $20 million of discovery and manufacturing funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). An additional funding round has closed and will be announced soon, making additional financial resources available to the company.
Its drug LTI-01, which is now moving out of phase I into phase II (efficacy) clinical trials, is designed to mitigate the damage often done to lungs by the first-line treatment for loculated pleural effusion (LPE), which involves removing fluid from the lungs with drainage tubes. The drainage process can cause scarring, which can then trap pleural fluid in pockets in the lung, preventing drainage and increasing the risk of dangerous infections.
Right now the standard of care for clearing the scarring is surgery, which carries risks. This is where LTI-01 changes the game. It becomes activated in the pleural space around the lungs and has proven safe with efficacy in clearing scar tissue. This allows for drainage around the lung without the necessity of surgery or its attendant risk of bleeding and other complications.
LTI-01 has received orphan drug designation by the FDA and the European Commission. An orphan drug designation speeds up the evaluation and development of drugs and other products that demonstrate promise for the diagnosis and/or treatment of rare diseases or conditions. Idell and his colleagues estimate that more than 100,000 US patients annually could benefit from treatment with LTI-01.
“This is important work,” says Idell. “The faster we can obtain regulatory approval, the more people we can help. Currently there is no FDA-approved drug for this problem.”
Lung Therapeutics is also developing LTI-03, a related compound, for the treatment of IPF. IPF is a chronic lung disease typified by progressive lung scarring
caused by a loss of healthy lung cells coupled with the growth of fibrotic cells. It affects more than 80,000 people in the U.S., with tens of thousands of new cases diagnosed every year.
“It is a devastating disease,” says Idell. “It compromises respiratory function and is lethal. We aren’t sure what triggers it, but there are facets that are known that can be targeted or inhibited.”
IPF, which usually presents in adults who are 65 or older, has no known cure, and is generally fatal three to five years after diagnosis. A class of anti-fibrotic drugs were approved in 2014 to treat the disease, but they only slow its progression. LTI-03, which is administered through inhalation, has the potential to resolve IPF or block its progression and return patients to healthier lung function.
“What we like about the drug is that it is blocking not just one target, but several,” says Idell.
LTI-03 has proven most effective when given after lung scarring is induced in preclinical testing. It has also shown promise as a solution for other fibrotic diseases. It is moving into phase I of clinical trials at the end of the year.
Article by Adrianne Grubic.