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LONDON (Alliance News) - Respiratory drug development company Synairgen PLC on Tuesday said it has received positive results from its lysyl oxidase type 2 enzyme trials as it swung to a pretax loss in 2015.
Synairgen said the lysyl oxidase type 2 enzyme, or LOXL2, inhibitor trials are focused on using this as a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a fatal lung disease.
The results showed that, by inhibiting LOXL2, cross-linking of collagen fibres is reduced and the fibres are less organised, which will result in less 'stiff' lung tissue. This could beneficially alter the course of the disease.
The trials are a collaboration with Australian-listed firm Pharmaxis.
"We are very pleased with the progress made with this collaboration and are excited by these results. We look forward to updating the markets with further progress over the coming months," said Richard Marsden, Synairgen's chief executive.
The test results came as Synairgen said it swung to a pretax loss of GBP2.6 million for the year to the end of December, from a GBP1.1 million profit in 2014. The loss was down to a GBP4.3 million upfront licensing payment made to Synairgen by drug giant AstraZeneca PLC not repeating in 2015.
Synairgen said it expects results for AZD-9412, the company's primary asset and its collaboration with AstraZeneca, to come in 2017, with trials currently ongoing.
"We are pleased with the progress made this year across our collaborations and in screening new opportunities," Marsden said.
Synairgen shares were up 7.7% to 23.70 pence.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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