Genesis pleased with asthma safety trial

By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor

Thursday 20th September 2001

Bitoech company Genesis (NZSE: GEN) has passed the first hurdle in proving the success of a new asthma treatment.

The company, along with partner SR Pharma, says a Wellington-based trial of its asthma immunotherapeutic AVACTM met the primary goal of safety and tolerance in the study volunteers.

Some volunteers received AVACTM nasal drops while others were given saline drops in a blind study. A further group were given the nasal doses in an open label study.

Genesis reports there were no serious adverse events, though local short-term nasal irritations were noted in five people.

Chief executive, Dr Jim Watson, says the results from the safety trials is pleasing.

"A successful safety trial is a prerequisite to larger efficacy studies, and is a solid milestone on the path to developing a successful therapeutic."

Although none of the people in the study showed a statistically significant reduction in asthma symptoms or asthma medication, Genesis says this was expected as patients continued with therapies they used to control asthma symptoms.

It also says nasal drops were not expected to efficiently distribute AVAC through airways. The next studies will use a nasal spray device that can deliver a variety of AVACTM doses into the airways.

It's estimated that between 100 to 150 million suffer from asthma worldwide and up to 15% of New Zealand and Australian teenagers have asthma symptoms.

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