Altesa Biosciences, a US-based clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on preventing and treating the leading cause of COPD and asthma exacerbations, announced on Thursday that its abstract has been selected for a late-breaker presentation at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress 2025 in Amsterdam.

The abstract titled 'Vapendavir for the Treatment of COPD Patients Challenged with Rhinovirus: A Phase 2a Placebo-Controlled Study' details the results of Altesa's recently completed randomised, placebo-controlled trial evaluating vapendavir, an oral capsid inhibitor targeting rhinovirus, in GOLD stage II COPD patients experimentally infected with rhinovirus A16. The company says that Vapendavir treatment resulted in improvements in multiple patient-reported outcomes, including lower and upper airway symptoms, as well as viral load and physiologic biomarkers. Symptom improvements were documented by endpoints that are qualified by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Results of the study, along with the overall potential of vapendavir to improve the lives of people living with COPD and other chronic lung conditions, will also be discussed during an Industry Symposium at ERS Congress 2025.

Based on the results, Altesa BioSciences is planning to conduct a multicentre, multinational, randomised controlled Phase 2b trial in COPD patients experiencing natural rhinovirus infections. The trial will begin in early 2026 with topline results available in late 2027.