Empowered Patient Podcast First Treatment for Severe Respiratory Condition in Premature Babies with Dr. Marc Salzberg Airway Therapeutics
Dr. Marc Salzberg, President, CEO, and Chief Medical Officer at Airway Therapeutics, is developing a drug AT-100 to prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants, a severe condition with no existing treatment. These infants are at high risk for BPD because of a low level of a protective protein that reduces inflammation and clears infections from their underdeveloped lungs. The drug's mechanism of action suggests it has potential for treating other inflammatory conditions such as asthma, COPD, and severe pneumonia.
Marc explains, "We're focusing on developing drugs or interventions for severe respiratory conditions for prevention or treatment of severe respiratory conditions. And our first project is focusing on the respiratory condition that preterm neonates have, which is called bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and cannot be treated or prevented yet. It's a very severe condition. And that really triggered my interest in getting engaged because it's going to be a paradigm shift if we manage to bring this drug to market."
"The protein that we're developing is an endogenous protein that we all have. In the past years or decade, it has been discovered that this protein has a very essential function in fighting inflammation and infection on a daily basis. Now, there are certain conditions or instances where the protein is low-functioning. For instance, in preterm-born babies, but also in adults with severe respiratory inflammation, with pneumonias, with asthma, or COPD. In all those cases where protein is low, those are the instances where you actually need it most. So, replacing it in those instances is a kind of logical rationale for the concept for the treatment that we're developing."
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