Dimerix (ASX:DXB) has announced new data showing the efficacy of its pipeline program, DMX-700, in an industry-standard preclinical model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The company said DMX-700 was identified as a novel oral candidate for the treatment of COPD using its proprietary Receptor-HIT platform.
DMX-700 targets signalling by an Interleukin 8 receptor beta (IL-8Rβ) and an angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) heteromer in COPD using two compounds together and achieves a synergistic effect in cells co-expressing IL-8Rβ and AT1R by blocking both receptors simultaneously.
In the new study, the activity of DMX-700 was tested in mice using an oral dose delivery in the porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) model of COPD. The company said this model is the most commonly used COPD model as it mimics the inflammatory response (effect of activated neutrophils) in the lungs of mice and leads to the breakdown of lung tissue and emphysema (shortness of breath).
DMX-700 resulted in a statistically significant 80% reduction in the PPE-induced lung injury in mice. In contrast inhibiting only AT1R or IL-8Rβ individually had no statistically significant effect on lung injury induced by PPE.
"We have established that blocking the known targets of COPD with DMX-700 at the same time results in a statistically significant decrease in lung injury that leads to fibrosis, or scarring," said Dimerix CEO and managing director Dr Nina Webster.
"These new results confirm the efficacy of DMX-700 in an industry-standard preclinical COPD model reducing lung injury by 80%. This information should provide significant encouragement to clinical investigators and patients in our planned clinical trials of DMX-700 in this devastating disease. Our now expanding clinical pipeline will strengthen our ongoing discussions with potential commercial and strategic partners."