LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Respiratory drug discovery and development company Synairgen announced on Wednesday that the recruitment of 120 Covid-19 patients into its phase 2 trial evaluating an inhaled formulation of interferon-beta-1a, 'SNG001', conducted in the home setting, had now been completed.
The AIM-traded firm said results from the trial were expected in the second quarter of 2021.

It said its two-part, placebo-controlled trial evaluating SNG001 as a treatment for Covid-19 infection involved dosing of 101 patients in the hospital setting, the positive results from which were published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine in November 2020, and 120 'at risk' patients in the home setting, recruitment for which completed on Tuesday.

The study targeted patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result aged over 65, and those over the age of 50 with 'high risk' medical conditions.

Synairgen said the trial was designed to make it "easy and safe" for trial participants and researchers to conduct the study, with all supplies delivered directly to the patient's door by a courier, and all trial assessments conducted remotely by study doctors and nurses via video call.

The study had confirmed the feasibility of rapid roll-out of antiviral treatment in the context of a pandemic, where there was a need to limit the movement of people to minimise risks to patients, the public and healthcare providers.

Synairgen conducted the trial in collaboration with the NIHR Southampton Clinical Trials Unit and TranScrip Partners.

"The trial is both a test of the drug, and a test of how technology can be utilised to deliver and manage the administration of an inhaled broad-spectrum antiviral to vulnerable patients in the context of a pandemic, reducing the need to transport infected patients, and eliminating virus exposure to healthcare workers," said chief executive officer Richard Marsden.

"We believe this methodology and treatments such as SNG001 could be invaluable alongside vaccines, now and in the future, to fight highly pathogenic viruses such as SARS-CoV-2."

At 1526 GMT, shares in Synairgen were down 3.68% at 164.7p.

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