Renovion, COPD Foundation Launch Partnership to Address Unmet Needs for COPD Patients

Efforts are underway to accelerate the development of a novel therapy for excessive airway mucus and inflammation treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis.

Renovion and the COPD Foundation are behind the efforts through a new partnership, which is planning to kick off Phase 2 clinical trials for the therapy in Q1 of 2022.

Renovion, a UNC Chapel Hill-supported biotechnology company, has developed ARINA-1, a novel nebulized therapy, to help patients who struggle with tenacious lung mucus and chronic inflammation that is associated with COPD, bronchiectasis, and other chronic lung diseases, according to a release. ARINA-1 is proven by study to improve mucus transport eight times more effectively than standard of care therapies.

More than 320 million people have COPD, and it is the 3rd leading cause of death worldwide. Non-CF bronchiectasis is an orphan disease (under 200,000 cases in the US) with a global prevalence expected to grow by 10-20% in the next 10 years.

In this new partnership, Renovion and the COPD Foundation are leveraging the foundational research in bronchiectasis registries and COPD studies, such as those utilizing the SPIROMICS® and COPDGene® groups that demonstrate a need for therapies that target airway mucus plugging. The expertise of the COPD Foundation, combined with initial efficacy and safety data demonstrated by ARINA-1 in early trials, will allow the Renovion clinical program to progress with maximum efficiency.

"Through our ongoing communication with patients, mucus production (commonly referred to as chronic bronchitis) is reported as one of the key challenges facing COPD and bronchiectasis patients as they deal with these diseases on a daily basis," said Ruth Tal-Singer, PhD, president and chief scientific officer of the COPD Foundation. "We are partnering with Renovion to accelerate the clinical programs for ARINA-1 in both COPD and bronchiectasis by tapping into the Foundation’s global community of patient advocates and scientific and clinical development experts."

The partnership between Renovion and the COPD Foundation is the first of its kind. It aims to accelerate the development of a therapeutic COPD360Net pipeline asset that may benefit individuals with COPD and / or bronchiectasis.