Verona Pharma plc , a biopharmaceutical company focused on respiratory diseases, announces two senior appointments to its clinical team. They will lead the Phase 3 program for Verona Pharma’s first-in-class product candidate, ensifentrine, for the maintenance treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (“COPD”).
Nina Church joins as Executive Director of Global Clinical Development and Nancy Herje as Senior Director of Clinical Operations. They strengthen Verona Pharma’s clinical team led by Kathleen Rickard, MD, Chief Medical Officer, and will be based in the Company’s US office.
“We are delighted to welcome Nancy and Nina to Verona Pharma,” said Jan-Anders Karlsson, PhD, CEO of Verona Pharma. “They bring substantial expertise in respiratory drug development and a strong track record of planning and managing global clinical trial programs. We believe ensifentrine, with its unique mode of action and clinical profile, has a very attractive commercial potential. We plan to complete our Phase 2 program with nebulized ensifentrine with data expected around year end and to enter pivotal Phase 3 trials in 2020.”
Ms. Church brings 30 years of experience of late-stage clinical drug development in respiratory therapeutics, with 25 years at GlaxoSmithKline where she held a series of management positions, including Director, Global Operations COPD. At GlaxoSmithKline, Ms. Church was involved in the development of many respiratory therapeutics including Advair, Anoro, Flovent, Serevent and Ventolin. She joins from Parion Sciences where she was Executive Director, Clinical Operations.
Ms. Herje has more than 25 years of experience in designing, planning and executing clinical programs for pharmaceutical and medical device companies including trials for the COPD therapeutic Flovent. Prior to joining Verona Pharma, Nancy was a Senior Clinical Scientist at ExecuPharm and previously held roles at Chimerix, Aerocrine, Inspire and GlaxoSmithKline.
About COPD
COPD is a progressive and life-threatening respiratory disease without a cure. The World Health Organization estimates that it will become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030. The condition damages the airways and the lungs, leading to debilitating breathlessness that has a devastating impact on performing basic daily activities such as getting out of bed, showering, eating and walking. In the United States alone, the 2010 total annual medical costs related to COPD were estimated to be $32 billion and are projected to rise to $49 billion in 2020. About 800,000 US COPD patients on dual/triple inhaled therapy (LAMA/LABA +/- ICS) remain uncontrolled, experiencing symptoms that impair quality of life. These patients urgently need better treatments.
About Verona Pharma plc
Verona Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for the treatment of respiratory diseases with significant unmet medical needs. Verona Pharma’s product candidate, ensifentrine (RPL554), is a first-in-class, inhaled, dual inhibitor of the enzymes phosphodiesterase 3 and 4 that has been shown to act as both a bronchodilator and an anti-inflammatory agent in a single compound. Nebulized ensifentrine is currently in Phase 2b clinical development for the maintenance treatment of COPD and is planned to enter Phase 3 trials for this indication in 2020. Verona Pharma plans a targeted US launch of the nebulized formulation, which is expected to benefit from a simplified Medicare Part B reimbursement process in the US. Verona Pharma may also develop ensifentrine for the treatment of cystic fibrosis and asthma.
Ensifentrine has shown significant and clinically meaningful improvements in both lung function and COPD symptoms, including breathlessness, in prior Phase 2 clinical studies in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD. In addition, ensifentrine has further improved lung function and reduced lung volumes in patients taking standard short- and long-acting bronchodilator therapy, including maximum bronchodilator treatment with dual/triple therapy. Ensifentrine has been well tolerated in clinical trials involving more than 800 people to date.
