IN FOCUS: A post-ERS look at Verona Pharma's respiratory pipeline

Fresh from their trip to the European Respiratory Society annual congress in Barcelona, Verona Pharma’s research team presented their results to a captive audience, including The Pharma Letter’s Sophie Flowers, in London on Monday. Investors were keen to find out about the recent achievements of Verona Pharma (LSE: VRP), a small UK-based biotechnology company dedicated to discovering new drugs to treat chronic respiratory diseases.

Chief executive Jan-Anders Karlsson seemed delighted at the recent results, which support the effectiveness of the company’s two lead compounds: RPL554 for COPD and VRP700 for chronic cough. He spoke about what the company can do “in the face of an onslaught from big pharma”, marking out the smaller company’s dedication to their key research focus. “We have an opportunity to drive this project into development. It can be used in a wider setting – out patients and maintenance therapy – and that’s something for a partner,” he said. “We think it’s an attractive opportunity.”

Studies to prove anti-inflammatory effect