Ockham 'excited' by inhaled heparin trial results

A British company which develops products for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis (CF) has published “exciting” results of a study of their patent protected inhaled heparin.

Ockham Biotech said the Phase IIb study, conducted at Rome’s IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana hospital, investigated the influence of inhaled heparin over 21 days on pulmonary function and exercise capacity amongst 24 moderate to severe COPD patients. Safety parameters were also studied.

Results showed significant increases in lung function as measured by forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC), and significantly reduced air trapping as measured by inspiratory capacity (IC), total lung capacity (TLC) and residual volume (RV) against placebo.