Synairgen Share News (SNG)

(Sharecast News) - Respiratory drug discovery and development company Synairgen announced on Thursday that its data safety monitoring committee had completed its planned safety review of the second part of the phase 2 clinical trial of its inhaled interferon-beta (IFN-beta) therapeutic candidate, SNG001, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).The AIM-traded firm said that in its review, the committee did not identify any safety concerns for patients currently enrolled in the second part of the trial.As a result, it had endorsed a pre-planned broadening of the patient inclusion criteria, to allow patients with more severe COPD to participate in the trial."We welcome this decision from the data safety monitoring committee, as it aids trial recruitment and enables us to dose patients who have a higher medical need," said Synairgen chief executive officer Richard Marsden."COPD exacerbations are the second most common cause of unplanned hospital admission in England, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to develop SNG001 to include these high-risk patients prior to potential hospitalisation."