New UK pharma company to target respiratory disease

A new biopharmaceutical company has been founded to develop innovative new approaches to treat respiratory disease.

Based in Cambridge, UK, Ario Pharma is a spin out from Xention Pharma, a specialist ion channel R&D company, and its scientific advisory board is comprised of world-renowned UK experts in respiratory disease. Ario Pharma has raised £1.9 million ($3.1 million) from an international syndicate of New Science Ventures, Forbion Capital Partners and Seroba Kernel Life Sciences. The funding will be used to run two separate Phase II trials for the company’s lead product, XEN-D0501, in chronic idiopathic cough and cough associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). XEN-D0501 is a potential best in class, orally bioavailable inhibitor of TRPV1.

Ario Pharma expects to start the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II trials early next year. XEN-D0501 has successfully completed multiple Phase I studies and has been shown to be safe and well tolerated.