Biota to commence trials of common cold drug in UK

Australia-based Biota is to start phase I trials of its cold treatment currently named BTA-798 in Britain.

The drug targets the human rhinovirus (HRV), thought to be the main cause of the common cold in children and adults. Currently no effective treatment for HRV exists, despite complications which arise for asthma sufferers, individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and infants contracting the pathogen.

British patients will be the first to try out BTA-798, with 48 participants to be selected at first. The trial should be complete by the end of the year.

“The HRV human trial is a significant step for Biota. This is the first time we have taken one of our own compounds into clinical trials in our own right,” said CEO Peter Cook.

“This trial comes at a time of increasing market interest in respiratory anti-virals. We will seek to partner HRV after the successful completion of the Phase 1 trials,” he added.

If the drug is successful, it could help reduce the severity of HRV for sufferers of COPD and asthma ? with respiratory viruses thought to cause 35 per cent of acute COPD hospitalisations in the US alone.

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