Pulmatrix Announces First Subject Dosed in Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Pulmazole - an Inhaled Dry-Powder iSPERSE™ Formulation of Itraconazole

LEXINGTON, Mass., Feb. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pulmatrix, Inc. (NASDAQ: PULM), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative inhaled therapies to address serious pulmonary diseases announced today that the single dose escalation phase of the first-in-human study for Pulmazole (PUR1900) - an inhaled iSPERSE™ formulation of the anti-fungal drug itraconazole for the treatment of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) in patients with asthma - has commenced.  

ABPA is a disease that occurs most often in patients with underlying asthma or cystic fibrosis, and it is characterized by an exaggerated allergic hypersensitivity response of the immune system to the fungus Aspergillus growing in the airways. Oral itraconazole (Sporanox®) is currently used as an adjunctive treatment to corticosteroids in ABPA patients. However, its use is limited by poor bioavailability, variable pharmacokinetics, and toxicity concerns related primarily to the risk of gastrointestinal and cardiac side effects, as well as extensive drug-drug interactions.  The Pulmatrix Pulmazole program is the first inhaled dry powder version of itraconazole known to the company to be advanced into clinical development, with the goal of improving upon the known safety and efficacy profile associated with oral Sporanox by delivering the drug directly to the lung. 

This phase 1/1b study is being conducted in healthy subjects and patients with mild to moderate stable asthma.  The study will include single ascending dose (SAD) and multiple ascending dose (MAD) arms in normal healthy volunteers (NHV) to assess safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK). A third study arm will evaluate safety and tolerability in patients with mild to moderate stable asthma and will also include PK analysis of itraconazole levels in the blood and sputum following administration of a single dose of oral itraconazole (Sporanox; 200 mg itraconazole) or Pulmazole (20 mg itraconazole) in a crossover study design.

"Dosing our first subject with Pulmazole and entering the clinic represents a major milestone for this program commented Jim Roach, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Pulmatrix.  In addition to generating the requisite safety and tolerability data from this study to advance dosing of Pulmazole into asthmatic patients with ABPA, we anticipate that the collective pharmacokinetic data obtained in Phase 1 will further corroborate the key PK preclinical findings reported last week at the 8^th Advances Against Aspergillosis Conference in Lisbon, Portugal - namely, that Pulmazole can provide higher lung exposure and lower systemic exposure than oral Sporanox."  

The study is planned to include up to 42 subjects in the SAD/MAD evaluation in NHV and 16 asthmatics in the crossover study. The company expects that top line results will be available in mid-2018.

Robert Clarke, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Pulmatrix, added "The initiation of our Pulmazole clinical trial is important validation of our iSPERSE dry powder technology as the second program to advance into the clinic along with PUR0200.  We look forward to advancing Pulmazole and our iSPERSE pipeline to improve the treatment approaches for patients with unmet medical needs."  

About Pulmatrix             
Pulmatrix is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative inhaled therapies to address serious pulmonary disease using its patented iSPERSE™ technology. The Company's proprietary product pipeline is focused on advancing treatments for serious lung diseases, including Pulmazole (PUR1900), an inhaled anti-fungal for patients with ABPA, and PUR1800, a narrow spectrum kinase inhibitor for patients with obstructive lung diseases including asthma and COPD. In addition, Pulmatrix has partnered with Vectura Group plc to develop Pulmatrix's drug candidate, PUR0200, for COPD for the U.S. market. Pulmatrix's product candidates are based on iSPERSE™, its proprietary engineered dry powder delivery platform, which seeks to improve therapeutic delivery to the lungs by maximizing local concentrations and reducing systemic side effects to improve patient outcomes.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this press release that are forward-looking and not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company cautions that such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may materially affect the Company's results of operations. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including but not limited to the ability to establish that potential products are efficacious or safe in preclinical or clinical trials; the ability to establish or maintain collaborations on the development of therapeutic candidates; the ability to obtain appropriate or necessary governmental approvals to market potential products; the ability to obtain future funding for developmental products and working capital and to obtain such funding on commercially reasonable terms; the Company's ability to manufacture product candidates on a commercial scale or in collaborations with third parties; changes in the size and nature of competitors; the ability to retain key executives and scientists; and the ability to secure and enforce legal rights related to the Company's products, including patent protection. A discussion of these and other factors, including risks and uncertainties with respect to the Company, is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 10, 2017, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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SOURCE Pulmatrix, Inc.