Fevipiprant: Leicester Scientists Trial New Asthma Pill

Fevipiprant, a new pill to treat asthmatic patients

Fevipiprant is a new drug used in the treatment of asthma. Scientists at the University of Leicester have carried out advanced clinical trials on asthmatic sufferers. There has been very positive results in the treatment of asthmatic patients.

Phase II trials have been conducted on people suffering from asthma. The teams from Leicester and Vancouver in Canada have shown that the smooth muscle in the air passage linings of asthmatic patients are considerably reduced after taking Fevipiprant.

According to Professor Chris Brightling, the new pill, Fevipiprant reduces the smooth muscle in the air passage lining as well as reduces inflammation in the air passage.

Improvements seen after administering Fevipiprant 

The researchers point out that an increase in smooth muscle in the lining of the air passage increases the likelihood of a person getting frequent asthmatic attacks. There is also a chance of asthma-related deaths.

Professor Brightling, a consultant respiratory physician and professor at the University of Leicester explains the effects that are seen in the symptoms and the breathing tests that are conducted after administering the pill, Fevipiprant.

The new drug, Fevipiprant, when taken by the patient, led to improvements in the symptoms, breathing tests, inflammation and also repaired the lining of the sufferer’s air passage.

The drug, Fevipiprant also has positive long-term effects on the progression of asthma. It shows positive effects of the disease through remodelling, improvement in the symptoms and considerable reduction in asthmatic attacks.

Laboratory tests conducted shows the effects of Fevipiprant 

Smooth muscle cells have been taken from a biopsy of an asthmatic patient and cultured in a laboratory. The smooth muscle shows green fluorescent staining. The green colour indicates production of actin pertaining to muscle cells and they were used to test the effect of the drug, Fevipiprant.

There is also the red fluorescent stained cells which are indicative of muscle cells cultured in the laboratory. The red staining indicates the production of a protein DP2.

Fevipiprant blocks the activation of this protein, which reduces the movement of the immature muscle cells from forming a bundle and blocking the air passage.

Fevipiprant could be the new drug for asthmatic sufferers 

There are more than 300 million asthmatic sufferers worldwide and the number only seems to be increasing.

In the UK, the number of asthmatic patients are about half a million having moderate to severe asthma. At present, there are no drugs available for treating the build-up of smooth muscle in the air passage. Thermoplasty, a method in which heat is used to decrease the smooth muscle in the air passage may be used in case of severe asthmatic attacks.

Patients in the UK manage the condition with the help of steroids or inhaling drugs.

The new drug, Fevipiprant could be used by asthmatic patients to avoid the side effects associated when one takes steroids to control the smooth muscle mass as well as gaining weight.

The trials of Fevipiprant shows a great improvement in breathing, reduction of inflammation and helps in repairing the lining of the air passage.