Sionna Therapeutics, a US-based life sciences company, announced on Wednesday that it has dosed its first healthy subject in a phase one clinical trial of SION-109 involved in developing treatments for cystic fibrosis (CF).

The company has dosed the subject after the approval of its Investigational New Drug application (IND) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

SION-109 is a small molecule designed to target the interface between the intracellular loop 4 (ICL4) region and the first nucleotide-binding domain (NBD1) of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein. It is a complementary mechanism to the company's portfolio of compounds directly targeting NBD1, including SION-638, the first-in-class NBD1 stabiliser now in Phase 1.

Mike Cloonan, Sionna president and chief executive officer, said, 'Our ability to target NBD1 correction is truly novel, and with SION-109 now entering clinical development, we have the opportunity to develop proprietary combination treatments that have the potential to achieve full CFTR correction. Advancing our second investigational drug into Phase 1 is an achievement made possible by the tireless work of our research and development teams, who have deep experience in CF and a sharp focus on advancing these programs rapidly to deliver new options for people living with CF and their families.'