Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced research findings showing that its anti-C5 monoclonal antibody can be effectively delivered to the lungs to substantially block airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in preclinical models of acute severe allergic asthma. The compound used in the research is a surrogate of eculizumab, Alexion's lead anti-complement antibody. The study shows that anti-C5 monoclonal antibodies, including eculizumab, can be successfully aerosolized for therapeutic use.

In the study, the anti-C5 complement antibody was aerosolized with a standard nebulizer, a device commonly used to deliver asthma medication. A single dose was found to be highly effective in blocking the bronchial inflammation and hyperresponsiveness that provoke airway constriction and have been shown to result in shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness and other asthma symptoms in asthmatic patients. The data also showed that combining the antibody with a corticosteroid was more effective than either therapy alone.

Stephen Squinto, executive VP and head of research at Alexion said, "We are further encouraged by the results reported today that anti-C5 antibodies, including eculizumab, can be successfully aerosolized and effectively delivered to the lung to prevent the inflammation that occurs during severe acute allergic asthma. Anti-complement blockade directly in the lung appears to be synergistic with corticosteroid treatment and, therefore, may eventually offer a novel therapeutic approach for treatment of the most severe forms of allergic asthma that often do not respond to standard corticosteroid therapy."

The data also underscore the emergence of complement activation as a key factor in the development of allergic asthma symptoms.

Alexion's two lead product candidates, eculizumab and pexelizumab, are currently undergoing evaluation in several clinical development programs, including two phase III trials of Soliris (eculizumab) for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).