Pearl reports inhaled COPD drug results

Pearl Therapeutics has reported results from four studies supporting further development of PT003, the company's fixed dose combination of glycopyrrolate and formoterol delivered via a pressurized hydrofluoroalkane metered dose inhaler (HFA-MDI) for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The data were presented in a poster session at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society (ATS).

Among to the results, Pearl demonstrated that its "porous particles" formulation technology produced particles that were more uniform than those produced by current micronized drugs. It also showed that the particles were of appropriate size to be delivered uniformly throughout the lung. This is an important consideration because larger particle sizes can be trapped at the back of the throat and thus have poor lung coverage. The data demonstrated that more than 50 percent of drug particles in each dose of Pearl's suspension were consistently in the respirable range, suggesting effective and uniform delivery throughout the lungs. Full ATS abstracts are now available on the organization's website.

"These studies provide a compelling clinical picture of our combination product, formulated as a stable suspension in HFA, and delivered as highly consistent and aerodynamically efficient aerosols via MDIs," says Colin Reisner, Pearl executive VP and chief medical officer.

According to Dr. Sarvajna Dwivedi, Pearl co-founder and executive vice president of R&D and co-founder, "Our porous particle formulation technology has shown great promise in addressing issues common to inhaled respiratory medicines, including thermal resiliency and delivery uniformity from dose to dose. We are hopeful that PT003 and eventually PT010, Pearl's triple combination consisting of glycopyrrolate, formoterol and an inhaled corticosteroid, will prove to be significant advancements in the treatment of patients with COPD."

Pearl has initiated a Phase IIb clinical trial with PT003 in patients with COPD and is currently enrolling patients. The company expects to report initial results later this year.

- read the Pearl Therapeutics release

ALSO: Pearl Therapeutics has been named a "TiE50" winner in the biosciences category, as a "leader in innovation, ingenuity and management excellence." The award was presented during TiEcon 2010, an annual convention hosted by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), an organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship. Release